Demographic differences in aortic dimensions
In the matched sample (N =134), female sex was associated with lower values on all measurements. Age was not associated with aortic measurements. Body surface area was associated with greater tortuosity (rs =0.26, P =0.002) and greater diameter at the STJ (rs =0.30, P <0.001) and PAB (rs =0.19, P =0.029). Hypertension was associated with greater tortuosity (P =0.044). However, all factors in the propensity score model were well-balanced between the cases and controls. Across the entire cohort, aortic diameter at PAB was significantly greater than aortic diameter at STJ (median: 34.6 vs 33.4,P <0.001).
In control patients, age was not associated with aortic measurements, such as aortic length (rs =0.05, P =0.674), average aortic diameter at PAB (rs =0.24,P =0.055), and average aortic diameter at STJ (rs =0.12, P =0.337). In ATAAD patients, older age was associated with lower average (rs =-0.34, P =0.004) and max (rs =-0.34, P =0.005) aortic diameter at STJ, but not related to other measurements, such as aortic length (rs =0.15, P =0.220; Figure 3). In the control group, BSA was not related to aortic measurements, but in the ATAAD group, greater BSA was associated with greater tortuosity (rs =0.30, P =0.015) and greater average aortic diameter at STJ (rs =0.43,P <0.001). BSA was not associated with aortic length in either group (Figure 4). In patients with ATAAD, hypertension was only associated with greater tortuosity (1.11 vs 1.08, P =0.011) and no measurements were associated with hypertension within the control patients.