Age appears to have an impact in cardiac biomarker levels in patients with wild-type transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTRwt-CM) while sex correlates with the age of diagnosis, according to a recently published study in JACC: Asia.
“This study aimed to explore the association between the age at diagnosis and disease parameters of ATTRwt-CM to enable a more accurate interpretation of each parameter in patients with ATTRwt-CM,” the authors wrote.
The study included data from over 300 patients from a single center in Japan. The researchers correlated clinical characteristics such as cardiac biomarkers, imaging findings, disease severity and age at diagnosis.
Read more about ATTR-CM testing and diagnosis
The authors divided the participants into two groups according to their age of diagnosis. Notably, the early diagnosis group (those diagnosed under the age of 75) had a significantly higher proportion of men than the late diagnosis group, suggesting that men could have a predisposition to develop the disease at younger ages than women.
Researchers observed that patients in the early diagnosis group had a better disease course overall, with less frequent hospitalizations due to heart failure, better kidney function and better levels of cardiac biomarkers like troponin. However, this group had a higher incidence of carpal tunnel syndrome and lumbar stenosis.
The authors commented that the mild increase in biomarker levels with age could represent age-associated physiological changes rather than specific disease mechanisms. They noted that the mechanisms behind the higher incidence of earlier diagnosis in men requires further study.
“Previous reports have indicated that female patients with ATTRwt-CM had thinner left ventricular wall thickness, preserved LVEF, and weaker cardiac uptake of the bone scintigraphy tracer compared with male patients, which may contribute to delayed diagnosis in female patients, though further investigation is needed to elucidate these mechanisms,” the authors wrote.
Sign up here to get the latest news, perspectives, and information about ATTR-CM sent directly to your inbox. Registration is free and only takes a minute.
