Table 1.
Clinical characteristics of the studied patients.
| Variable∗ | Control group (n = 61) | AsAA (n = 47) | TAD (n = 49) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | 60 (36-78) | 60 (28-79) | 57 (31-81) |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 27.3 (19.0-40.0) | 28.3 (20.0-38.1) | 26.1 (16.1-39.9)a |
| Males | 26 (43%) | 34 (72%)c | 30 (61%) |
| Smoking | 10 (16%) | 17 (36%)d | 15 (31%) |
| Diabetes mellitus | 12 (20%) | 7 (15%) | 0 (0%)a,c |
| Hypertension | 33 (54%) | 34 (72%) | 27 (55%) |
| BAV | - | 24 (51%) | 6 (12%)a |
| AVR ≥ 2# | - | 35 (74%) | 32 (65%) |
AsAA: ascending aortic aneurysm; TAD: thoracic aortic dissection; BMI: body mass index; BAV: bicuspid aortic valve; AVR: aortic valve regurgitation. ∗Chi2 test for qualitative variables and Mann-Whitney test for quantitative variables. #Aortic valve regurgitation (AVR) was measured using rank scale (“-” = 0, “+” = 1, “++” = 2, “+++” = 3, “++++” = 4), and the study group was divided, depending on the degree of regurgitation, into two subgroups: low regurgitation (AVR ≤ 1) and large (AVR ≥ 2) regurgitation. ap < 0.01 as compared to the AsAA group; cp < 0.01 and dp < 0.05 as compared to the control group.