Abstract
Little information is available on the prevalence and determinants of valvular regurgitation
in the general population. This study sought to assess the prevalence and clinical
determinants of mitral (MR), tricuspid (TR), and aortic (AR) regurgitation in a population-based
cohort. Color Doppler echocardiography was performed in 1,696 men and 1,893 women
(aged 54 ± 10 years) attending a routine examination at the Framingham Study. After
excluding technically poor echocardiograms, MR, TR, and AR were qualitatively graded
from trace to severe. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to examine the
association of clinical variables with MR and TR (more than or equal to mild severity)
and AR (more than or equal to trace severity). MR and TR of more than or equal to
mild severity was seen in 19.0% and 14.8% of men and 19.1% and 18.4% of women, respectively,
and AR of more than or equal to trace severity in 13.0% of men and 8.5% of women.
The clinical determinants of MR were age (odds ratio [OR] 1.3/9.9 years, 95% confidence
interval [CI] 1.2 to 1.5), hypertension (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.2 to 2.0), and body mass
index (OR 0.8/4.3 kg/m2; 95% CI 0.7 to 0.9). The determinants of TR were age (OR 1.5/9.9 years; 95% CI 1.3
to 1.7), body mass index (OR 0.7/4.3 kg/m2; 95% CI 0.6 to 0.8), and female gender (OR 1.2; 95% CI 1.0 to 1.6). The determinants
of AR were age (OR 2.3/9.9 years; 95% CI 2.0 to 2.7) and male gender (OR 1.6; 95%
CI 1.2 to 2.1). A substantial proportion of healthy men and women had detectable valvular
regurgitation by color Doppler echocardiography. These data provide population-based
estimates for comparison with patients taking anorectic drugs.
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Article Info
Publication History
Published online: August 16, 2004
Accepted:
November 18,
1998
Received in revised form:
November 18,
1998
Received:
July 15,
1998
Footnotes
☆This work was supported in part by NIH/NHLBI contract NO1-HC-38038 and NINDS Grant 2-RO1-NS-17950-11, Bethesda, Maryland.
Identification
Copyright
© 1999 Excerpta Medica Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
