Chapter 6 116 8000 platform (Roche, Mannheim, Germany). Dyslipidemia was defined as high LDL cholesterol concentrations (≥ 4.8 mmol/L), or high triglyceride concentrations (≥2.0 mmol/L) or low HDL cholesterol concentrations (≤1.0 mmol/L in men or ≤1.30 mmol/L in women) or the use of lipid-lowering drugs 21. Anthropometrics and body composition All clinical measurements were performed by the same investigator as much as possible and were carried out in a fasting state. Height was measured during the screening visit using a wall-mounted stadiometer (Seca 222, Seca GMBH). Body weight was measured using a calibrated digital measuring scale without shoes and heavy clothing (Seca 877, Sexa GMBH). Body composition was measured using a Bio-Electrical Impedance Analysis device (Bodystat Quadscan 4000; Quadscan, Douglas, Isle of Man, UK). Blood pressure Blood pressure was measured 4 times (1 minute apart) after an acclimatization period of at least 10 min in a supine position using a continuous blood pressure monitoring device (Criticare 506 N3; Criticare Systems Inc. ,Waukesha,WI, USA). The first measurement was discarded, and the mean of the last 3 measurements was reported. Hypertension was defined as a systolic blood pressure of ≥ 120 mm Hg, a diastolic blood pressure of ≥ 90 mm Hg, or the use of antihypertensive drugs. Arterial stiffness A direct marker of arterial stiffness is c-fPWV, which is the gold standard method for the quantification of arterial stiffness. An indirect measure of arterial stiffness is the augmentation index adjusted for heart rate (AI@HR75) of which the central arterial waveform can be indirectly estimated from a transfer function from radial artery tonometry. After measuring blood pressure, c-fPWV and AI@HR75 measurements were recorded in duplicate using a validated device (SphygmoCor v9, AtCor Medical, West Ryde, Australia). For the c-fPWV measurement, the distance from the suprasternal notch to the femoral recording site (via umbilicus) was measured and subsequently, the distance from the suprasternal notch to the carotid recording site (right) was subtracted. A detailed description of the vascular function measurements was previously published in our study protocol 15. Arterial stiffness measurements were performed in accordance to the expert consensus document on arterial stiffness by the European Network for Non-Invasive Investigation of Large Arteries 22.
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