Sex Difference of Aortic Calcification

Abstract

Aortic calcification was examined by the routine chest and abdominal lateral film on 1828 male and 1093 female patients aged 40 to 79. The incidence of calcification somewhere in the aortic arch, the abdominal aorta or both increased with advancing aged and did not show sex difference in any age groups. However, the incidence of calcification, that was calculated separately in the aortic arch or in abdominal aorta, showed remarkable sex difference. Calcification in the aortic arch was found in 267 (14.4%) of 1828 males versus in 199 (18.2%) of 1093 females and that in the abdominal aorta was found in 449 (24.6%) of 1828 males versus in 204 (18.7%) of 1093 females. The sex differences were stastically significant (p<0.025 for the aortic arch and p<0.0005 for the abdominal aorta). When aortic calcification was divided in three groups (aortic arch alone, abdominal aorta alone and both of them), the incidence of calcification in the abdominal aorta alone was greater than that of others and was decreased with advancing age in male (71.9% in 40-49 age-group, 56.0% iu 50-59 age-group and 51.1% in 60-69 age-group). In feman, the incidence of calcification in the aortic arch alone was greater than that of others and was decreased with advancing age (60.0% in 40-49 age-group, 47.9% in 50-59 age-group and 30.9% in 60-69 age-group). And the incidence of calcification in both was increasing with advancing age in both sex. Calcification of the aortic arch appeared earlier in female than male and calcification of the abdominal aorta appeared earlier in male than in female.