Valvular & structural heart disease
Sex differences in the prevalence and risk factors for aortic valve calcification in the general population
Authors' conclusion
Male sex was independently associated with AVC, and the prevalence of AVC was nearly twice as high in men as in women. Traditional cardiovascular risk factors, including lipoprotein(a), hyperlipidaemia, hypertension and smoking, were associated with AVC, with similar associations between sexes, except for BMI, which was associated with AVC in men but not in women.
Study context
- Population
- Individuals between 50 and 64 years from the general population (Swedish CArdioPulmonary BioImage Study)participants included, of 30,154 in the study
- Participants
- 29,160 participants
- Exposure
- Associations between traditional cardiovascular risk factors and aortic valve calcification (AVC)
- Outcome
- Prevalence of AVC
Methodological detailsrandomly selected from the general population, cardiac CT
- Randomly selected from the general population
- Cardiac CT
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
| Outcome | OR (95% CI) | |
|---|---|---|
| Male sex as predictor of AVCIndependent predictor | 1.91 (1.71–2.13) | |
| 0.512Odds ratio (log scale) |
Risk factors associated with AVC (adjusted)
- Characteristics associated with AVC were similar between the sexes
- Lipoprotein(a), hyperlipidaemia, hypertension and smoking were strongly associated with AVC
- Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, diabetes, glycated haemoglobin and estimated glomerular filtration rate showed no significant associations with AVC
- Higher body mass index (BMI) was associated with AVC in men but not women
- Adjusted analyses
Original publication
Sex differences in the prevalence and risk factors for aortic valve calcification in the general population. Heart. Published 29 January 2026. doi:10.
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