BACKGROUND : Arterial stiffness is a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. Pulse wave velocity (PWV) have been found to be elevated in patients with vascular inflammation, diabetes mellitus (DM), hypertension (HTN), hypercholesterolemia and in smokers. To obtain reliable data on the epidemiology of arteriosclerosis and the comorbidities in patients with HTN and DM, we evaluated the clinical significance of PWV as an indicator of arteriosclerosis and its comorbidities in Korea. METHODS : A total of 1894 subjectives, including 1091 patients with one or more cardiovascular risk factors (mean 62.4짹8.5 years) and heath 803 subjectives (mean 54.1짹14.5 years) were recruited into the study. PWV was examed by VP-2000 (Colins, Komaki, Japan) in all subjectives, and large artery arteriosclerosis was defined as PWV ���1400 cm/s. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to identify risk factors associated with arteriosclerosis. RESULTS: PWV increased in the DM (baPWV: 15.93짹3.0 m/s) and HTN (16.12짹3.6 m/s) patients compared to the normal subjects (14.87짹4.3 m/s) (respectively, p <0.01, p <0.01), and more increased in the more risk factors (17.39짹3.7 m/s in HTN+DM) (p<0.01). PWV significantly increased by age, especially more than 60 years (p<0.01). PWV was higer in male patients regardless of risk factors (P<0.01). The prevalence of large artery arteriosclerosis in the patients overall was 73.9%. and the prevalence was higher in patients with than in those without Systolic BP (82.9% vs. 17.1%, odds ratio [OR]: 5.513), DM (84.9% vs.15.1%, OR: 1.935), and DM combined HTN (87.8% vs. 12.2%, OR: 5.2). After multiple logistic regression analysis, older age (r=0.48, p<0.01), body weight (r=-0.032, p<0.001), HTN and DM were risk factors for large artery arteriosclerosis. CONCLUSION: PWV can be used as a routine measurement to scan arteriosclerosis in patients with HTN or DM.