Risk Factors of Degenerative Calcification of Cardiac Valves in the Elderly

The underlying cause of age related degenerative valvular calcifications is largely unknown. As a result, a case control study was used to evaluate the hypothesized risk factors. One hundred seventy two elderly matched for age & gender participated in this study (86 cases & 86 matched controls). Assessment of risk factors for atherosclerosis was done with medical history as well as measurement of body mass index (BMI), blood sugar, lipid profile, and homocysteine. Measurement of bone minerals, parathyroid hormone (PTH) and bone mass density (BMD) were also done. This study confirmed the vascular hypothesis of degenerative calcification of cardiac valves. It showed that with multiple logistic regression analysis, the magnitude of the risk conveyed by atherosclerotic risk factors was particularly high for high cholesterol level, low HDL level, high LDL level & high homocysteine level. Those factors were independent risk factors for degenerative calcification of cardiac valves (P = 0.019).