Arterial stiffness by oscillometric device and telomere lenght in juvenile idiopathic artrhitis with no cardiovascular risk factors : a cross-sectional study

Background Advances in juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) treatment is promoting free disease survival. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) may emerge as an important cause of morbidity and mortality. Pulse wave velocity (PWV), a surrogate marker of arterial stiffness, and telomere length (TL) are considered as potential predictors of CVD and its outcomes. The study aim was to assess PWV, TL in a JIA population and to test its correlation. In a cross sectional study, 24 JIA patients, 21 controls for TL and 20 controls for PWV were included. PWV was assessed by an oscillometric device. TL was assessed by qPCR. JIA activity was accessed by JADAS-27. Smoking, diabetes, obesity, renal impairment, hypertension, dyslipidemia and inflammatory diseases were excluded.