Arterial stiffness and its correlates between law enforcement officers and Kentucky residents

Introduction: Kentucky has one of the highest rates of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the United States, with ~13.3% of men reported to have CVD compared to the national average of 10.5%. Arterial stiffness, assessed by carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV), is a key risk factor predicting future CVD risk. Occupations including law enforcement officers (LEOs) are known for high rates of CVD. Notably, LEOs have lower arterial stiffness at younger ages but a greater acceleration of CVD risk compared to the national general population. Thus, this study aimed to investigate arterial stiffness in LEOs compared to the general population from Kentucky. Purpose: To test the hypothesis that compared to a general population from Kentucky, Kentucky LEOs have greater arterial stiffness measured via PWV. Methods: This retrospective analysis studied 122 healthy males (LEOs: n=70; General Population: n=52; Age range: 24-59yr) from Kentucky. Cardiovascular assessments included brachial mean arterial blood pressures (MAP), along with the dependent variable of PWV (SphygmorCor). Anthropometric measurements consisted of body mass and relative fat (BF, bioelectrical impedance) measurements. Two-tailed T-tests were utilized to assess group mean differences between general population and LEOs. Correlation analyses were used to assess the relationship between PWV and known predictors. The slopes of correlations were compared to assess the rate of change in the variables between the groups. Data presented as means ± SD. Results: There was no difference in PWV between the general population (6.70±0.79m/s) and LEOs (6.72±1.36, p = 0.921). PWV correlated with age for the general population (r = 0.581, p<0.001) and for LEOs (r=0.570, p <0.001), but the slope between age and PWV was greater for LEOs (p=0.046). PWV did not correlate with weight for the general population (r = 0.251, p=0.073), but did for LEOs (r=0.385, p = 0.001), with no difference in slope (p=0.261). PWV correlated with BF for the general population (r = 0.627, p<0.001) and for LEOs (r=0.598, p <0.001), with no difference in slope (p=0.267). PWV correlated with MAP for the general population (r = 0.348, p=0.012) and for LEOs (r=0.459, p <0.001), with no difference in slope (p=0.182). The general population was older (41±8yr) than the LEOs (37±8yr, p = 0.004). The general population weighed less and were leaner (83.2±13.0 kg, BF = 18.4±4.7%) than the LEOs (94.5±16.3kg, p < 0.001, BF = 22.8 ±5.6%, p = <0.001). The general population had lower MAP (88±7mmHg) than the LEOs (99±8mmHg, p < 0.001). Conclusion: In a state known for increased CVD risk, there was no difference in arterial stiffness between LEOs and the general population. However, LEOs demonstrated a steeper positive slope between PWV and age, which may indicate a more rapid progression of arterial stiffening. These data warrant further investigation to better understand CVD risk in LEOs. This abstract was presented at the American Physiology Summit 2025 and is only available in HTML format. There is no downloadable file or PDF version. The Physiology editorial board was not involved in the peer review process.