Association between Plasma Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate and Carotid Intima-Media Thickness among Male and Female Patients with End-Stage Renal Disease on Hemodialysis

Background and Aim: Serum dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S) is known to be lower in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients and in those with cardiac disease, and correlates with a poor cardiovascular outcome. This study aimed to assess the correlation between DHEA-S and carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) as a predictor of cardiovascular disease in hemodialysis (HD) patients. Methods: A total of 88 HD patients were included in this cross-sectional study. They included 53 male (group I) and 35 female patients (group II). In addition to conventional history taking, clinical examination, and routine laboratory investigations, serum DHEA-S and CIMT were measured for all patients. CIMT was measured using B-mode ultrasonography, and the mean of maximum CIMT was recorded. The 2 patient groups were further classified according to the level of DHEA-S. The correlation between serum DHEA-S and CIMT was studied. Results: In male patients, CIMT and age were significantly higher in the group with low DHEA-S level (p = 0.003 and 0.001, respectively), while there was no significant difference in both parameters in females. A higher percentage of HCV-positive patients is present in the male group with low DHEA-S level (p = 0.009). Serum DHEA-S is significantly negatively correlated with CIMT in males (p = 0.003) but not in females, and has a significant negative correlation to age in both genders (p = 0.001 and 0.04, respectively). Conclusion: Endocrinal disturbance representing as lower serum DHEA-S is associated with increased CIMT, which is considered a predictor of cardiovascular disease in male HD patients, although it is largely explained by advancing age.

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The Association of Self-Reported Muscle-Strengthening Activities With Carotid Intima–Media Thickness in Older Adults: Cooper Center Longitudinal Study

Journal of Aging and Physical Activity ◽

10.1123/japa.2019-0150 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 28 (4) ◽

pp. 534-539

Author(s):

Joowon Lee ◽

Baojiang Chen ◽

Harold W. Kohl ◽

Carolyn E. Barlow ◽

Chong Do Lee ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Cardiovascular Disease ◽

Older Adults ◽

Disease Risk ◽

Cardiovascular Disease Risk ◽

Intima Media Thickness ◽

Carotid Intima Media Thickness ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Muscle Strengthening ◽

Media Thickness

The purpose of the current investigation was to examine the cross-sectional associations of participation in muscle-strengthening activities (MSAs) with carotid intima–media thickness (CIMT) among older adults. The data are from 2,557 older adult participants enrolled in an observational cohort who reported no history of cardiovascular disease. MSA was determined using a questionnaire. Carotid ultrasound was performed to measure the CIMT of the common carotid artery bilaterally. Logistic regression models were constructed to estimate the association of MSA with CIMT after adjustment for potential confounders. The participants were aged 68.6 ± 7.0 years, and the majority were male (71.7%) and White (96.5%); 18% had abnormal CIMT. Meeting the physical activity guidelines for MSA was inversely associated with abnormal CIMT after adjustment for age and sex. However, this observed inverse relation became statistically null after further adjustment for cardiovascular disease risk factors, including aerobic physical activity.

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Abstract 17808: Fasting Levels of High-sensitive Growth Hormone in Males are Associated to Carotid Intima Media Thickness and are Reduced by Treatment With Fluvastatin

Circulation ◽

10.1161/circ.132.suppl_3.17808 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 132 (suppl_3) ◽

Author(s):

Erik Hallengren ◽

Peter Almgren ◽

Maria Rosvall ◽

Gerd Östling ◽

Margaretha Persson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cardiovascular Disease ◽

Growth Hormone ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Intima Media Thickness ◽

Carotid Intima Media Thickness ◽

Statin Treatment ◽

Linear Regression Models ◽

Double Blind ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Media Thickness

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.

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Correlation of Waist to Calf Circumference Ratio and Carotid Intima Media Thickness in Diabetes Mellitus

Current Diabetes Reviews ◽

10.2174/1573399816999200729124903 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 16 ◽

Author(s):

Harish A Rao ◽

Prakash Harischandra ◽

Srikanth Yadav

Keyword(s):

Diabetes Mellitus ◽

Type 2 Diabetes ◽

Cardiovascular Disease ◽

Risk Factor ◽

Carotid Atherosclerosis ◽

Intima Media Thickness ◽

Carotid Intima Media Thickness ◽

Calf Circumference ◽

Media Thickness

Introduction: Diabetes mellitus is a well-known risk factor for cardiovascular disease, because of the accelerated process of atherosclerosis. Obesity is an established risk factor and has gained immense importance in recent studies as an important risk factor for clinical cardiovascular disease, yet the fundamental component stays unclear. Calf circumference is another form for lean mass and peripheral subcutaneous fat and is inversely associated with occurrence of carotid plaques (CP). Multiplicative and opposite effects of both Calf Circumference (CC) and Waist Circumference (WC) in event of CP suggest that the two measures should be taken into account commonly while assessing vascular risk profile. Aim & Objective: To ascertain if waist to calf circumference ratio (WCR) is a marker of Carotid atherosclerosis in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. To asses s the correlation between waist to calf circumference ratio and carotid intima media thickness (CIMT ) in patients with Type 2 diabetes. Materials and methods: A cross sectional study at Hospital affiliated to Kasturba Medical college Mangalore from Sept 2016 to Sept 2018 . Method of study: Patients with type 2 DM as per ADA criteria, age >18years are recruited for the study. Results and discussion: In our study with 150 population 25 patients had carotid atherosclerosis and 20 patients had CIMT>1.1. The waist circumference in patients with CA is in the range of 93.07 and 99.85 & the CC in patients with CA is in the range of 29.49 to 31.25. The WCR in patients with CA is in the range of 3.12 to 3.26. The difference was statistically significant with a p value of <0.05. In our study it was found that WC and WCR correlated well with carotid atherosclerosis, and surprisingly calf circumference also correlated with carotid atherosclerosis but not as significant as both WC and WCR. Conclusion: To conclude, in our population based study of 150 subjects we found that carotid atherosclerosis is significantly more in people with increased waist calf circumference ratio. WCR may be a new, useful and practical anthropometric index that facilitates the early identification of diabetic subjects with high risk for cardiovascular disease. Validation of this finding in individual populations is required. Future studies should test the association of calf circumference with carotid intima media thickness and carotid plaques using better measures than ultrasound such as magnetic resonance imaging. Further research focusing on underlying mechanisms in the role of lean mass and peripheral fat mass is required.

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Plasma expression of microRNA-425-5p and microRNA-451a as biomarkers of cardiovascular disease in rheumatoid arthritis patients

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-95234-w ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Delia Taverner ◽

Dídac Llop ◽

Roser Rosales ◽

Raimon Ferré ◽

Luis Masana ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Rheumatoid Arthritis ◽

Cardiovascular Disease ◽

Pulse Wave Velocity ◽

Wave Velocity ◽

Pulse Wave ◽

Disease Risk ◽

Intima Media Thickness ◽

Carotid Intima Media Thickness ◽

Media Thickness ◽

Epigenetic Biomarkers

AbstractTo validate in a cohort of 214 rheumatoid arthritis patients a panel of 10 plasmatic microRNAs, which we previously identified and that can facilitate earlier diagnosis of cardiovascular disease in rheumatoid arthritis patients. We identified 10 plasma miRs that were downregulated in male rheumatoid arthritis patients and in patients with acute myocardial infarction compared to controls suggesting that these microRNAs could be epigenetic biomarkers for cardiovascular disease in rheumatoid arthritis patients. Six of those microRNAs were validated in independent plasma samples from 214 rheumatoid arthritis patients and levels of expression were associated with surrogate markers of cardiovascular disease (carotid intima-media thickness, plaque formation, pulse wave velocity and distensibility) and with prior cardiovascular disease. Multivariate analyses adjusted for traditional confounders and treatments showed that decreased expression of microRNA-425-5p in men and decreased expression of microRNA-451 in women were significantly associated with increased (β = 0.072; p = 0.017) and decreased carotid intima-media thickness (β = −0.05; p = 0.013), respectively. MicroRNA-425-5p and microRNA-451 also increased the accuracy to discriminate patients with pathological carotid intima-media thickness by 1.8% (p = 0.036) in men and 3.5% (p = 0.027) in women, respectively. In addition, microRNA-425-5p increased the accuracy to discriminate male patients with prior cardiovascular disease by 3% (p = 0.008). Additionally, decreased expression of microRNA-451 was significantly associated with decreased pulse wave velocity (β = −0.72; p = 0.035) in overall rheumatoid arthritis population. Distensibility showed no significant association with expression levels of the microRNAs studied. We provide evidence of a possible role of microRNA-425-5p and microRNA-451 as useful epigenetic biomarkers to assess cardiovascular disease risk in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

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Sitagliptin on carotid intima-media thickness in type 2 diabetes and hyperuricemia patients: a subgroup analysis of the PROLOGUE study

Therapeutic Advances in Chronic Disease ◽

10.1177/20406223211026993 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

pp. 204062232110269

Author(s):

Yipin Zhao ◽

Huawei Wang ◽

Dazhi Ke ◽

Wei Deng ◽

Yingying Ji ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Type 2 Diabetes ◽

Carotid Artery ◽

Conventional Therapy ◽

Therapy Group ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Intima Media Thickness ◽

Carotid Intima Media Thickness ◽

Media Thickness ◽

Significant Difference

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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Meta-analysis of epigenome-wide association studies of carotid intima-media thickness

European Journal of Epidemiology ◽

10.1007/s10654-021-00759-z ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Eliana Portilla-Fernández ◽

Shih-Jen Hwang ◽

Rory Wilson ◽

Jane Maddock ◽

W. David Hill ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Cardiovascular Disease ◽

Dna Methylation ◽

Cardiovascular Risk ◽

Cardiovascular Risk Factors ◽

Association Studies ◽

Subclinical Atherosclerosis ◽

Intima Media Thickness ◽

Carotid Intima Media Thickness ◽

Media Thickness

AbstractCommon carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) is an index of subclinical atherosclerosis that is associated with ischemic stroke and coronary artery disease (CAD). We undertook a cross-sectional epigenome-wide association study (EWAS) of measures of cIMT in 6400 individuals. Mendelian randomization analysis was applied to investigate the potential causal role of DNA methylation in the link between atherosclerotic cardiovascular risk factors and cIMT or clinical cardiovascular disease. The CpG site cg05575921 was associated with cIMT (beta = −0.0264, p value = 3.5 × 10–8) in the discovery panel and was replicated in replication panel (beta = −0.07, p value = 0.005). This CpG is located at chr5:81649347 in the intron 3 of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor repressor gene (AHRR). Our results indicate that DNA methylation at cg05575921 might be in the pathway between smoking, cIMT and stroke. Moreover, in a region-based analysis, 34 differentially methylated regions (DMRs) were identified of which a DMR upstream of ALOX12 showed the strongest association with cIMT (p value = 1.4 × 10–13). In conclusion, our study suggests that DNA methylation may play a role in the link between cardiovascular risk factors, cIMT and clinical cardiovascular disease.

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