Abstract
There is a dearth of information regarding the reliability of non-invasive measures
of vascular function taken in a single testing session. This study aimed to determine
the test-retest reliability of a test battery of vascular function measures: automated
blood pressure (BP), laser Doppler imaging with iontophoresis (LDI), digital volume
pulse (DVP), pulse wave velocity (PWV), augmentation index (AIx) measured by pulse
wave analysis (PWA) and flow-mediated dilation (FMD) taken within and between sessions.
Measures were taken in 21 non-smoking males intra-session and again inter-session
(one week apart) to determine repeatability and reproducibility, respectively. There
was moderate to excellent repeatability (ICC: 0.53–0.93; CV=2.2–18.1%) and reproducibility
(ICC: 0.71–0.96; CV 1.9–14.2%) for BP, DVP stiffness index, PWV, AIx, AIx normalised
to heart rate (75 bpm), absolute and percentage FMD. Repeatability of the DVP reflection
index was moderate (ICC: 0.64; CV=9.5%) but there was poor reproducibility (ICC: 0.17;
CV=15.1%). Moreover, the repeatability and reproducibility of the LDI measures ranged
from poor to good (ICC: 0.31–0.84; CV=28.4–36.7%). These data indicated that there
was considerable variability in the repeatability and reproducibility of measurements
of endothelial function and arterial stiffness taken in a battery of measurements,
which needs careful consideration in future research designs.
Key words
endothelial function - arterial stiffness - repeatability - reproducibility
