A family history of diabetes is not associated with arterial stiffness in non-diabetic Japanese population

Prevalent diabetes is at high risk for cardiovascular diseases and has a high familial inheritance. However, little is known whether a non-diabetic subject with a family history of diabetes is at high risk for vascular damage or not. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between a family history of diabetes and arterial stiffness in adult non-diabetic Japanese population. We analyzed eligible 787 non-diabetic subjects (502 men and 285 women) aged 35-69 years who enrolled in the baseline survey of a cohort study in Tokushima Prefecture, Japan and who underwent a brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (ba-PWV) measurement. Information on individual life-style characteristics including medical history and treatment for diseases and a first-degree family history of diabetes was obtained through a structured self-administered questionnaire. Analysis of covariance and logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate the association between a family history of diabetes and ba-PWV. We found no differences in age-and-systolic blood pressure-adjusted and multivariate-adjusted means of ba-PWVs between subjects of both sexes with and without a family history of diabetes. Logistic regression analyses including both sexes also revealed that subjects with a family history of diabetes showed no differences in age-and-systolic blood pressure-adjusted and multivariate-adjusted odds ratios for high ba-PWV compared to those without that trait. Our results suggest that a family history of diabetes itself is not associated with arterial stiffness in adult non-diabetic Japanese population.