Responses
Other responses
Jump to comment:
- Published on: 13 December 2019
- Published on: 13 December 2019Points to be considered when using cardio ankle vascular index (CAVI) as a marker of arterial stiffness
Letter to editor:
Show More
We read with interest the article by Zhang et al. [1], in which they concluded that total hip bone mineral density was correlated with cardio ankle vascular index (CAVI). However, some common mistakes can happen in the studies using CAVI as a marker of arterial stiffness. First, Pearson’s correlation between this marker and other continuous variables should be considered after testing both variables for normality. Normality of the variables had been proposed as an assumption for the Pearson’s correlation analysis [2], if this assumption is not met, Spearman’s correlation should be performed after categorization of the continuous variables.
Second point that is essential in evaluation of CAVI is the effects of age on CAVI. Age has been proved to be largely correlated to CAVI and many studies tried to make reference values for CAVI in different age groups. Namekata et al. [3] provided reference values which can be used to categorize CAVI in the study individuals. Although Zhang et al. [1] controlled for age in the multiple linear regression, using reference values of CAVI in every individual could completely change the results and conclusions of their study. Although in the study of Zhange et al. [1] we can see the biggest correlation (r=0.631, P<0.001) between age and CAVI, correlation of age with other variables cannot be seen and there is a possibility that age and bone mineral density is also high. So, conclusions about the independent as...Conflict of Interest:
None declared.