scholarly journals Association of prehypertension and hyperhomocysteinemia with subclinical atherosclerosis in asymptomatic Chinese: a cross-sectional study

BMJ Open ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. e019829 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bo Liu ◽  
Zhihao Chen ◽  
Xiaoqi Dong ◽  
Guangming Qin

ObjectivesComorbid hypertension and hyperhomocysteinemia is an important risk factor for carotid atherosclerotic plaque formation. We put forward the hypothesis that the subjects with comorbid prehypertension and hyperhomocysteinemia also had an increased risk of subclinical atherosclerosis, using carotid intima–media thickness (CIMT) as the marker of the atherosclerotic process.MethodsA total of 4102 asymptomatic Chinese subjects aged 18–60 years were divided into four groups according to blood pressure (BP) and homocysteine (HCY) level: the control group without prehypertension or hyperhomocysteinemia, isolated prehypertension group, simple hyperhomocysteinemia group and prehypertension with hyperhomocysteinemia group. Serum lipids, fasting blood glucose (FBG), HCY and CIMT were measured.ResultsThere was significant difference in the positive rates of increased CIMT among four groups. Compared with the controls, the subjects in the other three groups had a higher risk of increased CIMT (isolated prehypertension group, OR 2.049, 95% CI 1.525 to 2.754; simple hyperhomocysteinemia group, OR 2.145, 95% CI 1.472 to 3.125; prehypertension and hyperhomocysteinemia group, OR 3.199, 95% CI 2.362 to 4.332). However, by multiple logistic regression analysis, only comorbid prehypertension and hyperhomocysteinemia was independently associated with increased CIMT (OR 1.485, 95% CI 1.047 to 2.108, P<0.05).ConclusionsComorbid prehypertension and hyperhomocysteinemia was an independent risk factor of subclinical atherosclerosis in asymptomatic Chinese, but isolated prehypertension or hyperhomocysteinemia was not. Therefore, combined intervention for prehypertension and hyperhomocysteinemia may contribute to decrease the incident of cardiovascular disease.

Circulation ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 131 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Jacobo ◽  
Adriana Monge ◽  
Eduardo Ortiz-Panozo ◽  
Elsa Yunes ◽  
Andres Catzin-Khulmann ◽  
...  

Introduction: Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a common chronic disorder characterized by an irresistible need to move the lower limbs that is usually worse in the evening and is associated with sleep disturbances. RLS has been associated with hypertension and has been proposed as a marker for increased cardiovascular risk. Hypothesis: Individuals with RLS have an increased common carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) relative to individuals without RLS. Methods: We evaluated cross-sectional relation of RLS and cIMT in 1,147 disease-free Mexican women of the Mexican Teachers’ Cohort. In 2011, participants responded to a follow-up questionnaire that included standardized questions addressing the four minimal diagnostic criteria of the International Restless Legs Study Group. Participants were asked: “Do you have unpleasant leg sensations (like crawling, loss of sensation or pain) combined with restlessness and an urge to move your legs?”, “Do these symptoms occur only at rest?”, “Does moving improve these symptoms?”, “Are these symptoms worse in the evening or at night compared with the morning?” Women who answered yes to all the four questions were defined as having RLS. Between 2012 and 2013, a subsample of participants were invited for a clinical visit where neurologists assessed cIMT with an ultrasound. cIMT measurements were found to be reproducible in a substudy in 52 participants (intra-class correlation=0.89). We defined subclinical atherosclerosis as a cIMT ≥0.8 mm or the presence of plaque. Results: Among women with a mean age of 48.2 (SD±4.3), the prevalence of RLS was 14.2% (cases, 163). The age-adjusted mean difference of cIMT comparing participants with RLS to those without RLS was 0.009mm (95%CI -0.004 to 0.023). After further adjustment for diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, migraine, oral contraceptive use, menopause, smoking, body mass index, physical activity and alcohol, the mean difference of cIMT comparing participants with and without RLS was not statistically different (0.007mm; 95%CI -0.007 to 0.021). The prevalence of subclinical atherosclerosis was 27% (n=44) in those with RLS and 21.9% (n=215) in those without RLS. The age-adjusted OR comparing women with RLS to those without RLS was 1.23 (95%CI 0.83-1.82). In the multivariable model the OR remained non-significant (1.16, 95%CI 0.77-1.74). Conclusions: In this cross-sectional study in middle-aged women, RLS was not associated to cIMT. Our results do not support the observation that individuals with RLS are at an increased risk for cardiovascular disease.


2018 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatiana V. Kirichenko ◽  
Veronika A. Myasoedova ◽  
Tatiana E. Shimonova ◽  
Alexandra A. Melnichenko ◽  
Dmitri Sviridov ◽  
...  

HIV infection is associated with the increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), even in patients successfully treated with the combination antiretroviral therapy (cART). However, the relationship between HIV, cART, and pathogenesis of CVD remains controversial. In the present study, we evaluated the carotid intima–media thickness (CIMT), a surrogate marker of atherosclerosis, in HIV-infected subjects receiving or not receiving cART. One hundred nine newly diagnosed HIV-infected subjects and one hundred nine uninfected age-matched controls (all males) without the history of CVD, hypertension, or diabetes were recruited into the present study. Cross-sectional analysis at baseline (BL) showed significantly increased levels of triglycerides (TG) and decreased levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) in HIV-infected subjects, indicating that these risk factors for CVD appeared during the undiagnosed period of HIV infection. Nevertheless, no differences in CIMT were detected between the groups, suggesting that these risk factors were yet to be translated into the clinical disease. The prospective arm of the study, which included 37 HIV-infected and 23 uninfected subjects, showed higher CIMT increase in HIV-infected group than in control group (P=0.0063). This difference was significant for both cART-treated (P=0.0066) and untreated (P=0.0246) subgroups relative to the uninfected subjects, but no difference was found between the HIV-infected subgroups. These results suggest that cART does not reverse the HIV-induced increase of CIMT. The present study demonstrates that the progression of atherosclerosis is accelerated in HIV-infected subjects regardless of treatment.


2013 ◽  
Vol 169 (5) ◽  
pp. 605-611 ◽  
Author(s):  
H Ijäs ◽  
L Morin-Papunen ◽  
A K Keränen ◽  
R Bloigu ◽  
A Ruokonen ◽  
...  

ObjectiveGestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is associated with an increased risk of subsequent diabetes and metabolic syndrome (MS). The independent significance of overweight, often associated with GDM, is controversial. This study was aimed to investigate the prevalence of MS and carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) values in normal and overweight women with previous insulin-treated GDM and control without GDM 19 years after the index pregnancy.MethodsThe study group consisted of 61 women with prior GDM and 55 controls who gave birth in Oulu University Hospital between 1988 and 1993. These women were further divided into subgroups according to pre-pregnancy BMI (<25 or ≥25 kg/m2). In 2008–2010, anthropometrics and blood pressure were measured, blood samples were taken, and an oral glucose tolerance test was performed to investigate the components of MS. CIMT was measured by Doppler ultrasound.ResultsTotal prevalence of MS was 62% in the GDM group and 31% in the control group (P=0.001); it was highest (86%) in GDM women with pre-pregnancy overweight. CIMT was significantly thicker (0.67 vs 0.56 mm,P=0.007) and more often abnormal (71.7 vs 45.3%,P=0.004) in the GDM group compared with the controls. In logistic regression analysis, the strongest factor predicting MS in the whole study population was pre-pregnancy overweight.ConclusionsPre-pregnancy overweight was the strongest predictive factor for later MS, whereas GDM indicated increased risk of subsequent diabetes and subclinical atherosclerosis. The risk of MS was highest when both of these factors were present.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 955
Author(s):  
Ovidiu Mitu ◽  
Adrian Crisan ◽  
Simon Redwood ◽  
Ioan-Elian Cazacu-Davidescu ◽  
Ivona Mitu ◽  
...  

Background: The current cardiovascular disease (CVD) primary prevention guidelines prioritize risk stratification by using clinical risk scores. However, subclinical atherosclerosis may rest long term undetected. This study aimed to evaluate multiple subclinical atherosclerosis parameters in relation to several CV risk scores in asymptomatic individuals. Methods: A cross-sectional, single-center study included 120 asymptomatic CVD subjects. Four CVD risk scores were computed: SCORE, Framingham, QRISK, and PROCAM. Subclinical atherosclerosis has been determined by carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT), pulse wave velocity (PWV), aortic and brachial augmentation indexes (AIXAo, respectively AIXbr), aortic systolic blood pressure (SBPao), and ankle-brachial index (ABI). Results: The mean age was 52.01 ± 10.73 years. For cIMT—SCORE was more sensitive; for PWV—Framingham score was more sensitive; for AIXbr—QRISK and PROCAM were more sensitive while for AIXao—QRISK presented better results. As for SBPao—SCORE presented more sensitive results. However, ABI did not correlate with any CVD risk score. Conclusions: All four CV risk scores are associated with markers of subclinical atherosclerosis in asymptomatic population, except for ABI, with specific particularities for each CVD risk score. Moreover, we propose specific cut-off values of CV risk scores that may indicate the need for subclinical atherosclerosis assessment.


2015 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 386-392 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xavier Melo ◽  
Helena Santa-Clara ◽  
Diana A. Santos ◽  
Nuno M. Pimenta ◽  
Cláudia S. Minderico ◽  
...  

It is unclear if cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) can be used as a screening tool for premature changes in carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) in paediatric populations. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was 3-fold: (i) to determine if CRF can be used to screen increased cIMT; (ii) to determine an optimal CRF cut-off to predict increased cIMT; and (iii) to evaluate its ability to predict increased cIMT among children in comparison with existent CRF cut-offs. cIMT was assessed with high-resolution ultrasonography and CRF was determined using a maximal cycle test. Receiver operating characteristic analyses were conducted in boys (n = 211) and girls (n = 202) aged 11–12 years to define the optimal sex-specific CRF cut-off to classify increased cIMT (≥75th percentile). Logistic regression was used to examine the association between the CRF cut-offs with the risk of having an increased cIMT. The optimal CRF cut-offs to predict increased cIMT were 45.81 and 34.46 mL·kg−1·min−1 for boys and girls, respectively. The odds-ratios for having increased cIMT among children who were unfit was up to 2.8 times the odds among those who were fit (95% confidence interval: 1.40–5.53). Considering current CRF cut-offs, only those suggested by Adegboye et al. 2011. (Br. J. Sports Med. 45(9): 722–728) and Boddy et al. 2012 (PLoS One, 7(9): e45755) were significant in predicting increased cIMT. In conclusion, CRF cut-offs (boys: ≤ 45.8; girls: ≤ 34.5 mL·kg−1·min−1) are associated with thickening of the arterial wall in 11- to 12-year-old children. Low CRF is an important cardiovascular risk factor in children and our data highlight the importance of obtaining an adequate CRF.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (13) ◽  
pp. 2907
Author(s):  
Alba Martínez-Escudé ◽  
Guillem Pera ◽  
Anna Costa-Garrido ◽  
Lluís Rodríguez ◽  
Ingrid Arteaga ◽  
...  

Thyroid hormones may be a risk factor for the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and its progression to liver fibrosis. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) levels, NAFLD, and liver fibrosis in the general population. A descriptive cross-sectional study was performed in subjects aged 18–75 years randomly selected from primary care centers between 2012 and 2016. Each subject underwent clinical evaluation, physical examination, blood tests and transient elastography. Descriptive and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to identify factors associated with NAFLD and fibrosis. We included 2452 subjects (54 ± 12 years; 61% female). Subjects with TSH ≥ 2.5 μIU/mL were significantly associated with obesity, atherogenic dyslipidemia, metabolic syndrome (MetS), hypertransaminasemia and altered cholesterol and triglycerides. The prevalence of NAFLD and liver fibrosis was significantly higher in subjects with TSH ≥ 2.5 (μIU/mL). We found a 1.5 times increased risk of NAFLD, 1.8 and 2.3 times increased risk of liver fibrosis for cut-off points of ≥ 8.0 kPa and ≥ 9.2 kPa, respectively, in subjects with TSH ≥ 2.5 μIU/mL compared with TSH < 2.5 μIU/mL (control group), independent of the presence of MetS. These findings remained significant when stratifying TSH, with values ≥ 10 μIU/mL.


Angiology ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 67 (5) ◽  
pp. 471-477 ◽  
Author(s):  
Małgorzata Waluś-Miarka ◽  
D. Czarnecka ◽  
W. Wojciechowska ◽  
M. Kloch-Badełek ◽  
M. Kapusta ◽  
...  

Patients with familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) are at increased risk of premature cardiovascular disease. We compared factors associated with the presence of carotid plaques and carotid intima–media thickness (cIMT), markers of subclinical atherosclerosis, in 241 patients with FH (98, 40.7% men; mean age 41 ± 18.4 years). Patients with FH having carotid plaques (36.5%) had mean age, apolipoprotein (apo) B, glucose, apoA1, systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic BP, waist/hip ratio (WHR), and body mass index higher than patients without plaques. Logistic regression revealed that apoB (odds ratio [OR] per 1 unit change 1.03, P = .005), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C; OR per 1 standard deviation [SD] change 0.59, P = .015), and non-HDL-C (OR per 1SD change 1.53, P = .04) were significantly associated with the presence of plaques. The cIMT correlated with obesity parameters, BP, apoB, glucose, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, creatinine, γ-glutamyl transpeptidase, and alanine transaminase ( P < .001). Regression analysis revealed that cIMT was significantly associated with apoB, SBP, and WHR. These results confirm the role of apoB-containing lipoproteins and low HDL-C with the presence of carotid plaques and apoB, BP, and WHR with cIMT.


2016 ◽  
Vol 36 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenan Demircioglu ◽  
Feyza Aksu ◽  
Mustafa Caliskan ◽  
Yusuf Yilmaz

Introduction: Gamma-glutamyltransferase(GGT) plays a catalytic role in degradation of glutathione. Serum GGT is accepted as a marker of oxidative stress.The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between serum GGT levels and epicardial adipose tissue (EFT) thickness, carotid intima media thickness (CIMT) measurements in patients with psoriasis. Methods: The study population included 89 patients with psoriasis and 79 healthy volunteers. After overnight fasting, blood samples were taken for to determine blood glucose levels and establishing cholesterol profiles including TG, TC, LDL cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol; GGT; and high- sensitivity C-reaktive protein (hs-CRP) levels. A high-resolution B-mode ultrasound machine (Toshiba, aplio XU) with a 7.5 MHz linear transducer used for examing CIMT.The right common carotid artery (CCA), approximately 1 cm proximal to the bifurcation, was longitudinally selected and CIMT was defined as the distance between the intima and the media. Results: 89 patients with psoriasis (age:41.7±10.9 years;41 women, 48 men), and 71 healthy control subjects (age:40.4±8.2 years;39 women, 32 men) were included. There were no significant variation for age and sex between two groups(p>0.05).The hs-CRP and GGT values were significantly higher in psoriasis, compared with the controls (hs-CRP:1.35(0.9-3.6)mg/l for psoriasis group, 0.45(0.29-0.79)mg/l for control group, p<0.001; GGT:20.6±9.6 U/l for psoriasis group, 16.7±8.0 U/l for control group, p=0.02. In psoriatic patients, CIMT and EFT were significantly inreased (0.60(0.50-0.68)mm vs. 0.50 (0.40-0.60)mm;p=0.007, 0.67±0.20cm; 0.27±0.12cm; p<0.001, respectively) compared with the control group. CIMT significantly positively correlated with EFT, age, BMI, diastolic BP and GGT.EFT significantly positively correlated with GGT, CIMT, age, hs-CRP, systolic BP and TG and negatively correlated with HDL cholesterol. Discussion: The pathophysiology of atherosclerosis in psoriasis is not fully explained.GGT may be used as an indicator of subclinical atherosclerosis like CRP.


2019 ◽  
Vol 51 (10) ◽  
pp. 649-654
Author(s):  
Hamide Piskinpasa ◽  
Yildiz Okuturlar ◽  
Sema Ciftci Dogansen ◽  
Yasemin Sefika Akdeniz ◽  
Ayse Esen ◽  
...  

AbstractThe purpose of the study was to compare serum visfatin levels between patients with acromegaly and healthy controls and to evaluate the relationships between visfatin levels and epicardial fat thickness (EFT), carotid intima media thickness (cIMT), and ankle brachial index (ABI). We conducted a cross-sectional case-control study of 54 patients with acromegaly (37 females and 17 males) and 34 healthy controls (22 females and 12 males). Serum visfatin was measured by ELISA. Acromegalic and control participants and those with active or controlled acromegaly were compared with respect to their serum visfatin, clinical and metabolic parameters, EFT, cIMT, and ABI. Linear correlation was used to identify associations between these parameters and visfatin in all participants. Serum visfatin and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) were higher in the acromegaly group than in the control group (p<0.001 and p=0.007, respectively). There was no difference in visfatin between the active and controlled acromegaly groups, but HbA1c was higher in the active than the controlled acromegaly group (p<0.04). EFT, cIMT, and ABI were similar between the acromegaly and control groups and between the active and controlled acromegaly groups. Serum visfatin positively correlated with HbA1c, growth hormone (GH), and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1)/upper limit of normal ratio (r=0.245, p=0.024; r=0.259, p=0.017; and r=0.282, p=0.009, respectively). This study has revealed that a high visfatin level is associated with glycemic dysregulation and higher levels of GH and IGF-1 in acromegalic patients.


2021 ◽  
pp. 95-95
Author(s):  
Gonca Sağlam ◽  
Mehmet Turgut ◽  
Oktay Gülcü

Objective: Epidemiological studies indicate that cardiovascular disease is common in almost all patients diagnosed with autoimmune disease. This study aimed to examine whether Epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) and carotid intima media thickness (CIMT) differ among patients with Beh?et?s Disease (BD) and healthy individuals. Methods: A total of 40 healthy subjects as controls and 40 BD patients with musculoskeletal complaints were enrolled in this cross-sectional prospective study. Socio-demographic, clinical and laboratory data were obtained and compared between groups. Beh?et?s Disease Current Activity Form was used to assess disease activity. Both groups underwent echocardiography to measure EAT and CIMT. Results: The mean thickness of EAT (5.70?1.05; 2.50?0.61, respectively, p<0.001) and CIMT (0.68?0.05; 0.63?0.06, respectively, p: 0.002) were significantly increased in BD patients compared to the control group. A positive correlation was observed between EAT thickness and age (r:0.500, p:0.001), the duration of the disease (r:0.330, p<0.001), waist circumference (r:0.316, p: 0.013), and disease activity (r: 0.31, p<0.001) in the patient group. The CIMT was positively correlated with age (r: 0.594, p: 0.001) and the duration of the disease (r: 0.585, p: 0.001). Use of glucocorticoids or clinical manifestations (joint involvements, genital ulcer, skin lesions, inflammatory back pain and major organ involvement) of the patients were not found to be associated with EAT or CIMT. Conclusion: The thickness of EAT and CIMT are increased in patients with BD that are associated with disease activity. Echocardiographic measurement of EAT and CIMT is an objective, noninvasive and available method that can evaluate the risk of subclinical atherosclerosis in patients with BD.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document