The prevalence of coronary artery calcium among diabetic individuals without known coronary artery disease.
OBJECTIVE
We sought to examine the age and gender distribution of coronary artery calcium (CAC) by diabetes status in a large cohort of asymptomatic individuals.


BACKGROUND
Among individuals with diabetes, coronary artery disease (CAD) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Electron-beam tomography (EBT) quantifies CAC, a marker for atherosclerosis.


METHODS
Screening for CAC by EBT was performed in 30,904 asymptomatic individuals stratified by their self-reported diabetes status, gender, and age. The distribution of CAC across the strata and the association between diabetes and CAC were examined.


RESULTS
Compared with nondiabetic individuals (n = 29,829), those with diabetes (n = 1,075) had higher median CAC scores across all but two age groups (women 40 to 44 years old and men and women > or =70 years old). Overall, the likelihood of having a CAC score in the highest age/gender quartile was 70% greater for diabetic individuals than for their nondiabetic counterparts.


CONCLUSIONS
Younger diabetic individuals appear to have calcified plaque burden comparable to that of older individuals without diabetes. These findings call for future research to determine if EBT-CAC screening has an incremental value over the current CAD risk assessment of individuals with diabetes.
Hoff
Julie Anne
JA
Department of Medicine, Section of Cardiology, University of Illinois College of Medicine, 840 S. Wood Street (m/c 715), Chicago, IL 60612, USA. jahoff@uic.edu
Quinn
Lauretta
L
Sevrukov
Alexander
A
Lipton
Rebecca B
RB
Daviglus
Martha
M
Garside
Daniel B
DB
Ajmere
Niraj K
NK
Gandhi
Sanjay
S
Kondos
George T
GT
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002114:Calcinosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D048909:Diabetes Complications; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed