scholarly journals Carotid artery intima–media thickness, distensibility and elasticity: population epidemiology and concordance in Australian children aged 11–12 years old and their parents

BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (Suppl 3) ◽  
pp. 23-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard S Liu ◽  
Sophie Dunn ◽  
Anneke C Grobler ◽  
Katherine Lange ◽  
Denise Becker ◽  
...  

ObjectivesTo describe a well-established marker of cardiovascular risk, carotid intima–media thickness (IMT) and related measures (artery distensibility and elasticity) in children aged 11–12 years old and mid-life adults, and examine associations within parent–child dyads.DesignCross-sectional study (Child Health CheckPoint), nested within a prospective cohort study, the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC).SettingAssessment centres in seven Australian major cities and eight selected regional towns, February 2015 to March 2016.ParticipantsOf all participating CheckPoint families (n=1874), 1489 children (50.0% girls) and 1476 parents (86.8% mothers) with carotid IMT data were included. Survey weights and methods were applied to account for LSAC’s complex sample design and clustering within postcodes and strata.Outcome measuresUltrasound of the right carotid artery was performed using standardised protocols. Primary outcomes were mean and maximum far-wall carotid IMT, quantified using semiautomated edge detection software. Secondary outcomes were carotid artery distensibility and elasticity. Pearson’s correlation coefficients and multivariable linear regression models were used to assess parent–child concordance. Random effects modelling on a subset of ultrasounds (with repeated measurements) was used to assess reliability of the child carotid IMT measure.ResultsThe average mean and maximum child carotid IMT were 0.50 mm (SD 0.06) and 0.58 mm (SD 0.05), respectively. In adults, average mean and maximum carotid IMT were 0.57 mm (SD 0.07) and 0.66 mm (SD 0.10), respectively. Mother–child correlations for mean and maximum carotid IMT were 0.12 (95% CI 0.05 to 0.23) and 0.10 (95% CI 0.03 to 0.21), respectively. For carotid artery distensibility and elasticity, mother–child correlations were 0.19 (95% CI 0.10 to 0.25) and 0.11 (95% CI 0.02 to 0.18), respectively. There was no strong evidence of father–child correlation in any measure.ConclusionsWe provide Australian values for carotid vascular measures and report a modest mother–child concordance. Both genetic and environmental exposures are likely to contribute to carotid IMT.

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 55-55
Author(s):  
Aleda Leis ◽  
Emma Barinas-Mitchell ◽  
Ana Baylin ◽  
Samar El Khoudary ◽  
Elizabeth Jackson ◽  
...  

Abstract Metabolic syndrome (MetS) and obesity are risk factors for atherosclerosis but their combined impact is unknown. The aim of this study was to quantify the added risk of obesity on carotid artery intima media thickness (cIMT), an early indicator for atherosclerosis, beyond MetS alone. The Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (SWAN) is a multi-center, multi-ethnic cohort of women traversing the midlife into early late adulthood. cIMT was assessed between 2005-2007 and MetS, obesity and covariates were measured at the same time. This cross-sectional analysis is restricted to 1,433 women with a body mass index ≥18.5 kg/m2 and free of cardiovascular disease (CVD) when cIMT was measured. Mean maximum cIMT was related to obesity, MetS and their interaction using multivariable linear regression models. The average age was 60 years (standard deviation 2.7) and the prevalence of obesity and MetS were 44% and 35%, respectively. Both conditions occurred in 24% of women. After adjustment for age, race, smoking, family history of heart disease, and antilipemic medications, obese women had a 0.051mm (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.033,0.070; p<0.001) larger maximum cIMT versus women not obese and women with MetS had a 0.066mm (95%CI: 0.042,0.090; p<0.001) larger maximum cIMT versus women without MetS. There was a statistically significant antagonistic interaction between obesity and MetS; women with both had a mean cIMT of 0.972mm (95%CI: 0.955,0.989) and MetS alone a cIMT of 0.961mm (95%CI:0.938,0.983). This suggests that there is only a small risk of obesity on augmenting cIMT beyond MetS alone.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1358863X2110250
Author(s):  
Sudhi Tyagi ◽  
David R Friedland ◽  
Lisa Rein ◽  
Sergey S Tarima ◽  
Christopher Mueller ◽  
...  

Introduction: Prior data suggest associations between hearing loss, cardiovascular (CV) risk factors, and CV disease. Whether specific hearing loss patterns, including a strial pattern associated with inner ear vascular disease, are associated with systemic endothelial dysfunction and carotid intima–media thickness (IMT) remains unclear. Methods: We evaluated participants without prevalent CVD in the Framingham Offspring Study who underwent formal audiogram testing and brachial and carotid artery ultrasounds. Audiograms were categorized as normal or as belonging to one of four abnormal patterns: cochlear-conductive, low-sloping, sensorineural, or strial. Endothelial function as measured by brachial artery flow-mediated dilation (FMDmm and FMD%). Internal and common intima–media thicknesses (icIMT and ccIMT, respectively) were compared between audiogram patterns. Results: We studied 1672 participants (mean age 59 years, 57.6% women). The prevalence of each hearing pattern was as follows: 43.7% normal; 20.3% cochlear-conductive; 20.3% sensorineural; 7.7% low-sloping; and 8.0% strial. Strial pattern hearing loss was nearly twice as prevalent ( p = 0.001) in those in the highest quartile of ccIMT and nearly 50% higher in those in the highest icIMT quartile ( p = 0.04). There were no statistically significant differences between the prevalence of the strial pattern comparing the lowest quartiles of FMDmm and FMD% with the upper three quartiles. Age- and sex-adjusted linear regression models did not show significant associations between the vascular measures and hearing patterns. Conclusion: Abnormal hearing patterns were not significantly associated with impaired brachial FMD and increased carotid IMT after adjusting for age and sex effects, which may reflect age and sex-related distributional differences based on hearing loss pattern.


Circulation ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 132 (suppl_3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Erik Hallengren ◽  
Peter Almgren ◽  
Maria Rosvall ◽  
Gerd Östling ◽  
Margaretha Persson ◽  
...  

Introduction: Growth hormone (GH) has been linked to cardiovascular disease and lipid metabolism but the exact mechanisms of this association are still unclear. Objectives: We here test if GH is cross-sectionally associated to carotid intima media thickness (IMT) and whether treatment with fluvastatin have any effects on the fasting level of GH in a randomized controlled trial of carotid IMT progression. Methods: We examined the association between GH and IMT in 4425 individuals (aged 46-68 years) included in the baseline examination (1991-1994) of the Malmö Diet and Cancer cardiovascular cohort (MDC-CC). From that cohort we then studied 472 individuals (aged 50-70 years) who also participated (1994-1999) in the β-Blocker Cholesterol-Lowering Asymptomatic Plaque Study (BCAPS), a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled, single-center clinical trial. Using multivariate linear regression models we related the change in GH-levels at 12 months compared to baseline to treatment with fluvastatin. Results: In MDC-CC fasting values of GH exhibited a positive cross-sectional relation to the IMT at the carotid bifurcation after adjustment for traditional cardiovascular risk factors (p=0.002). In a gender-stratified analysis the association were positive and significant for males (p=0.005), but not for females (p=0.09). In males in BCAPS treated with fluvastatin there tended to be a greater reduction of GH after 12 months when compared to subjects not receiving fluvastatin (p=0.05) (Table). Fasting levels of GH did not interact with the different treatment regimes’ effect on the IMT. Conclusions: We here demonstrate that higher fasting levels of GH are associated to thicker IMT in the carotid bulb and that statin treatment may reduce fasting levels of GH in males. Our results are in line with previous results with GH being associated to cardiovascular disease. The effects of statin treatment on GH are small and need to be confirmed in a larger trial.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shun-Sheng Wu ◽  
Chew-Teng Kor ◽  
Ting-Yu Chen ◽  
Ko-Hung Liu ◽  
Kai-Lun Shih ◽  
...  

Oxidative stress is the major cause of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases. This cross-sectional study is aimed at determining if parallel serum markers of oxidative stress are related to carotid intima-media thickness (IMT). We enrolled 134 participants with varied metabolic syndrome (Met-S) scores (zero, n=21; one, n=19; two, n=27; three, n=26; four, n=25; five, n=16). Biochemical profiles and potential oxidative stress biomarkers malondialdehyde (MDA) and uric acid were measured in fasting plasma. We found that carotid IMT positively correlated with both MDA and uric acid levels. Multivariate analysis revealed that both MDA (p<0.05) and uric acid (p<0.01) levels were significantly associated with carotid IMT in participants whose Met-S scores were ≥1 or ≥2. However, only uric acid (p<0.01) levels were positively associated with carotid IMT in patients with metabolic syndrome. Linear regression model analysis revealed that the prediction accuracies for carotid IMT from MDA combined with uric acid and from a combination of MDA, uric acid, and Met-S score were 0.176 and 0.237, respectively. These were better than the predication accuracies from MDA (r2=0.075) and uric acid (r2=0.148) individually. These results suggest that measuring uric acid levels along with MDA biomarkers and Met-S scores may be a promising step in the development of an effective model for monitoring the severity of carotid IMT and atherosclerosis in the patients with metabolic syndrome.


VASA ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 275-281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kuna Rueb ◽  
Jonathan Mynard ◽  
Richard Liu ◽  
Melissa Wake ◽  
Peter Vuillermin ◽  
...  

Abstract. Background: Carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT), an ultrasonographic marker of cardiovascular risk, is increasingly used in adults and children. The choice of specific images used to quantify CIMT from a cine sequence is often based on image quality rather than on a consistent point in the cardiac cycle. This methodological study quantified the imprecision that may be introduced by variation of CIMT during the cardiac cycle. Probands and methods: Data from four-year-olds, 11 to 12-year-olds, and adults (n=30 each age group) were selected retrospectively from two population-derived studies. Far wall CIMT of the right common carotid artery was measured at end-diastole and peak systole using standardized protocols. All images were analysed using semi-automated edge-detection software. Results: In all age groups CIMT varied significantly during the cardiac cycle and was largest at end-diastole. The mean difference in CIMT between end-diastole and peak systole was greater in four-year-olds (38 μm; 95 % confidence interval (CI) 33 to 43 μm) and 11 to 12-year-olds (31 μm; CI 26 to 36 μm) than in adults (18 μm; CI 16 to 22 μm). Carotid IMT increased by 8.8 % (CI 7.7 to 9.8 %), 6.9 % (CI 5.8 to 8.1 %), and 3.8 % (CI 3.1 to 4.5 %) between minimum and maximum arterial diameter in four-year-olds, 11 to 12-year-olds, and adults, respectively. The greatest variation in CIMT during the cardiac cycle was observed in children (up to 14 %). Conclusions: Inconsistent timing of CIMT measurement during the cardiac cycle is an avoidable source of imprecision, especially in children, in whom inter-individual differences are smallest. As CIMT is largest at end-diastole, this is the most appropriate time point for consistent and comparable measurements to be made.


2010 ◽  
Vol 104 (8) ◽  
pp. 1202-1211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoon Jung Yang ◽  
Bo Youl Choi ◽  
Byung-Yeol Chun ◽  
Sun-Seog Kweon ◽  
Young-Hoon Lee ◽  
...  

The relationship between dietary Zn intake and the risk of atherosclerosis remains unclear, and no epidemiological studies have been reported on the effects of dietary Zn intake on morphological changes in the vascular wall. We examined the relationship between dietary Zn intake and common carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) as a marker of subclinical atherosclerosis among the middle-aged and elderly populations. A cross-sectional analysis of a prospective cohort baseline study was performed with 4564 adults aged 40–89 years and free of clinical CVD. Dietary data were collected by trained interviewers using an FFQ. Common carotid IMT was measured using a B-mode ultrasound imaging technique. Subclinical atherosclerosis was determined using carotid IMT, and defined as >80th percentile of carotid IMT or ≥ 1 mm of carotid IMT. After adjustment for potential confounders, the mean carotid IMT in the low Zn intake group was higher than that in the high Zn intake group. When subclinical atherosclerosis was defined as >80th percentile value of IMT or ≥ 1 mm of carotid IMT, after adjustment for potential confounders, Zn intake was inversely related to subclinical atherosclerosis (5thv.1st quintile, OR 0·64, 95 % CI 0·45, 0·90,Pfor trend = 0·069; 5thv.1st quintile, OR 0·34, 95 % CI 0·16, 0·70,Pfor trend = 0·005, respectively). In persons free of clinical CVD, dietary Zn intake was inversely correlated with subclinical atherosclerosis. The present findings suggest a putative protective role of dietary Zn intake against the development of atherosclerosis.


2018 ◽  
Vol 119 (5) ◽  
pp. 590-598 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cheng Wang ◽  
Rui Qiu ◽  
Yi Cao ◽  
Wei-fu Ouyang ◽  
Hua-bin Li ◽  
...  

AbstractSeveral studies have suggested that higher carotenoid levels may be beneficial for atherosclerosis patients, but few studies have examined this relationship in the Chinese population. This cross-sectional study examined the association between the levels of carotenoids in diet and serum and carotid intima–media thickness (IMT) in Chinese adults aged 50–75 years in Guangzhou, China. Dietary intake was assessed using a FFQ. HPLC was used to assay the serum concentrations of α-carotene, β-carotene, lutein+zeaxanthin, β-cryptoxanthin and lycopene. The IMT at the common carotid artery (CCA) and bifurcation of the carotid artery was measured by B-mode ultrasound. A total of 3707 and 2947 participants were included in the analyses of dietary and serum carotenoids. After adjustment for demographic, socio-economic and lifestyle factors, all the serum carotenoids levels except lycopene were found to be inversely associated with the IMT at the CCA and bifurcation (Ptrend<0·001 to 0·013) in both men and women. The absolute mean differences in the IMT between the subjects in the extreme quartiles of serum carotenoid levels were 0·034 mm (α-carotene), 0·037 mm (β-carotene), 0·032 mm (lutein+zeaxanthin), 0·030 mm (β-cryptoxanthin), 0·015 mm (lycopene) and 0·035 mm (total carotenoids) at the CCA; the corresponding values were 0·025, 0·053 0·043, 0·050, 0·011 and 0·042 mm at the bifurcation. The favourable associations were also observed between dietary carotenoids (except lycopene) and the CCA IMT. In conclusion, elevated carotenoid levels in diet and serum are associated with lower carotid IMT values (particular at the CCA) in Chinese adults.


2016 ◽  
pp. 20-24
Author(s):  
Van Tam Le ◽  
Phuong Thao Tien Nguyen ◽  
Dinh Toan Nguyen ◽  
Thi Yen Le ◽  
Thi Phuong Anh Le

Background and Purpose: Cerebral atherosclerosis is the leading cause of mechanical obstruction of blood flow that final event is cerebral infarction. Lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2) is an inflammatory biomarkers specific for blood vessels, is an important factor predicted extent of atherosclerosis. The study aimed to assess the association between serum Lp-PLA2 concentration with carotid intimamedia thickness (IMT). Materials andMethod: The cross – sectional study, in 37 patients who presented to Department of Cardiology - Hue University Hospital and Hue Central Hospital. Vulnerability asessment of the external carotid artery into the skull through ultrasound by measuring carotid intima-media thickness. Testing serum Lp-PLA2 concentration, lipid profile, blood glucose. Results: Group of patients with thickness of carotid IMT levels of serum Lp-PLA2 was 27.73 IU/ml higher than the group with thickness normal carotid IMT was 14.35 IU/ml; p < 0.05. Total cholesterol, LDL cholestrol, triglycerid and Lp-PLA2 are the factors capable of predict the changes in size IMT; (p <0.05). There is moderate correlation between Lp-PLA2 levels and carotid intima-media thickness (r = 0.47; p < 0.05). Conclusion: Higher Lp-PLA2 levels is significantly associated with carotid intimamedia thickness in patients who have cerebral infarction. Key words: Stroke, atherosclerosis, inflammation, biomarker.


2018 ◽  
Vol 69 (6) ◽  
pp. 1550-1553
Author(s):  
Rosana Manea ◽  
Bianca Elena Popovici ◽  
Carmen Daniela Neculoiu ◽  
Dan Minea ◽  
Alina Calin

Hypertension is a major risk factor for progression of the atherosclerotic process and for developing of degenerative cardiovascular diseases in adulthood. The aim of this study is to evaluate how the measurement of carotid intima - media thickness for prediction of essential hypertension in children can be used.The study group included 81 children and the control group 61 children, all aged between 5 - 17 years and 11 months old, and admitted in Children Hospital Brasov in the period of 2009 � 2014. The study protocol included: BMI, blood pressure and Doppler echography of the common carotid artery for each group. Mean age of the patients from the study group was 13.67 years, 43.20 % girls and 56.80 % boys, while in the control group, the mean age was 14.07 years, 54.10% girls and 45.90 % boys. 70.37% of the children from the study group presented obesity, while in the control group 40.98% were obese. The IMTC study group ranged from 0.52 - 0.69 mm and the limits of the normotensive subjects were 0.32 -0.54 mm. In both groups the obese patients were found to have increased carotid artery intima-media, which means that IMTC was positively correlated with BMI (p=0.000001).It is necessary to identify diagnostic methods easily applicable for children, allowing involvement of the characteristics of the arterial wall in the degenerative pathological processes. Increased intima-media ratio is positively correlated with high values of blood pressure.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 204062232110269
Author(s):  
Yipin Zhao ◽  
Huawei Wang ◽  
Dazhi Ke ◽  
Wei Deng ◽  
Yingying Ji ◽  
...  

Background and Aims: Studies have shown that dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DDP-4) inhibitors have anti-atherosclerotic effects. However, in the PROLOGUE study, sitagliptin failed to slow the progression of carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) relative to conventional therapy. We conducted a post hoc analysis of the PROLOGUE study and compared the effects of sitagliptin and conventional therapy on changes in CIMT in subgroups with or without hyperuricemia. Methods: The PROLOGUE study was a randomized controlled trial of 442 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Patients were randomized to receive sitagliptin added therapy or conventional therapy. Based on the serum uric acid levels of all study populations in the PROLOGUE study, we divided them into hyperuricemia subgroup ( n = 104) and non-hyperuricemia subgroup ( n = 331). The primary outcome was changed in carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) parameters compared with baseline during the 24 months treatment period. Results: In the hyperuricemia subgroup, compared with the conventional therapy group, the changes in the mean internal carotid artery (ICA)-IMT and max ICA-IMT at 24 months were significantly lower in the sitagliptin group [−0.233 mm, 95% confidence interval (CI) (−0.419 to 0.046), p = 0.015 and −0.325 mm, 95% CI (−0.583 to −0.068), p = 0.014], although there was no significant difference in the common carotid artery CIMT. Conclusion: The results of our analysis indicated that sitagliptin attenuated the progression of CIMT than conventional therapy in T2DM and hyperuricemia patients.


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