biostudies-literatureRaisi-Estabragh ZMedical Research Council CanadaBritish Heart FoundationVersus ArthritisInternational Osteoporosis FoundationAcademy of Medical SciencesEngineering and Physical Sciences Research CouncilNIHR Biomedical Research Centre, Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust/Institute of Cancer ResearchUniversity Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation TrustUniversity of SouthamptonHorizon 2020 Framework ProgrammeBiomedical Research CentreMedical Research CouncilNational Institute for Health Research (NIHR)University of OxfordRoyal Osteoporosis SocietyWellcome Trust90-99https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC7613252biostudies-literatureUnknown36(1)Osteoporosis and ischemic heart disease (IHD) represent important public health problems. Existing research suggests an association between the two conditions beyond that attributable to shared risk factors, with a potentially causal relationship. In this study, we tested the association of bone speed of sound (SOS) from quantitative heel ultrasound with (i) measures of arterial compliance from cardiovascular magnetic resonance (aortic distensibility [AD]); (ii) finger photoplethysmography (arterial stiffness index [ASI]); and (iii) incident myocardial infarction and IHD mortality in the UK Biobank cohort. We considered the potential mediating effect of a range of blood biomarkers and cardiometabolic morbidities and evaluated differential relationships by sex, menopause status, smoking, diabetes, and obesity. Furthermore, we considered whether associations with arterial compliance explained association of SOS with ischemic cardiovascular outcomes. Higher SOS was associated with lower arterial compliance by both ASI and AD for both men and women. The relationship was most consistent with ASI, likely relating to larger sample size available for this variable (n = 159,542 versus n = 18,229). There was no clear evidence of differential relationship by menopause, smoking, diabetes, or body mass index (BMI). Blood biomarkers appeared important in mediating the association for both men and women, but with different directions of effect and did not fully explain the observed effects. In fully adjusted models, higher SOS was associated with significantly lower IHD mortality in men, but less robustly in women. The association of SOS with ASI did not explain this observation. In conclusion, our findings support a positive association between bone and vascular health with consistent patterns of association in men and women. The underlying mechanisms are complex and appear to vary by sex. © 2020 The Authors. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR).Journal of bone and mineral research : the official journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral ResearchPoor Bone Quality is Associated With Greater Arterial Stiffness: Insights From the UK Biobank.PMC7613252203553/Z/16/Z4050502589U1475000001MC_U147585824EP/P001009/1MC_U147585827825903U1475000002SGL023\1072PG/15/74/31747MC_UU_12011/2MC_UU_12011/1PG/14/89/31194CL-2019-19-003MC_QA137853203553/Z/Z17702MC_PC_17228MC_U147585819FS/17/81/33318MC_UP_A620_1014MC_UP_A620_1015ACF-2019-19-006MC_PC_21003203553G0400491NF-SI-0513-1008510/33/04CL-2019-26-002ACF-2020-19-006Cooper JThomson RJFung KCurtis ERayner JJPuchta HNeubauer SSanghvi MMLee AMPetersen SEMunroe PBPaccou JBiasiolli LPaiva JMAung NThomas KEPiechnik SKRaisi-Estabragh ZCooper CHarvey NCWerys KfalsePoor Bone Quality is Associated With Greater Arterial Stiffness: Insights From the UK Biobank.Osteoporosis and ischemic heart disease (IHD) represent important public health problems. Existing research suggests an association between the two conditions beyond that attributable to shared risk factors, with a potentially causal relationship. In this study, we tested the association of bone speed of sound (SOS) from quantitative heel ultrasound with (i) measures of arterial compliance from cardiovascular magnetic resonance (aortic distensibility [AD]); (ii) finger photoplethysmography (arterial stiffness index [ASI]); and (iii) incident myocardial infarction and IHD mortality in the UK Biobank cohort. We considered the potential mediating effect of a range of blood biomarkers and cardiometabolic morbidities and evaluated differential relationships by sex, menopause status, smoking, diabetes, and obesity. Furthermore, we considered whether associations with arterial compliance explained association of SOS with ischemic cardiovascular outcomes. Higher SOS was associated with lower arterial compliance by both ASI and AD for both men and women. The relationship was most consistent with ASI, likely relating to larger sample size available for this variable (n = 159,542 versus n = 18,229). There was no clear evidence of differential relationship by menopause, smoking, diabetes, or body mass index (BMI). Blood biomarkers appeared important in mediating the association for both men and women, but with different directions of effect and did not fully explain the observed effects. In fully adjusted models, higher SOS was associated with significantly lower IHD mortality in men, but less robustly in women. The association of SOS with ASI did not explain this observation. In conclusion, our findings support a positive association between bone and vascular health with consistent patterns of association in men and women. The underlying mechanisms are complex and appear to vary by sex. © 2020 The Authors. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR).2021-01-01T00:00:00Z2021 Jan2025-04-04T02:26:26.366Z2025-02-19T02:27:03.938ZS-EPMC76132523296454110.1002/jbmr.4164