title: Impact of multiple cardiovascular risk factors on femoral artery intima-media thickness in asymptomatic young adults (the Bogalusa Heart Study).
abstract: Femoral artery intima-media thickness (IMT), like carotid IMT, is a surrogate indicator of atherosclerotic coronary and peripheral vascular diseases in middle-aged and older adults. Although risk factors for coronary artery disease are also associated with increased IMT, especially as measured in carotid arteries, there is a paucity of information with respect to the femoral artery in this regard in the asymptomatic, younger adult population. This study examined the impact of multiple risk factors on the common femoral artery IMT as measured by B-mode ultrasonography in 1,080 black and white subjects aged 24 to 43 years (71% white and 43% men) enrolled in the Bogalusa Heart Study. Femoral IMT showed gender difference (men more than women, p = 0.001), but no racial difference. In a multivariate model, systolic blood pressure, age, male gender, cigarette smoking, and total cholesterol/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratios related independently, in that order, to IMT. Mean IMT increased with an increasing number of risk factors defined as values above the age-, race-, and gender-specific 75th percentile of systolic blood pressure, waist circumference, total cholesterol/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio, and insulin along with smoking status (p for trend = 0.003), with respective mean IMT values of 0.66, 0.69, 0.73, and 0.79 mm for 0, 1 to 2, 3, and 4 to 5 risk factors. The odds ratio for patients with >/=3 risk factors versus no risk factors having IMT in the top fifth percentile was 4.7 (p = 0.01). The observed adverse trend of increasing femoral IMT with an increasing number of risk factors in free-living, asymptomatic young subjects underscores the need for multiple risk factors profiling in early life. Further, ultrasonography of the femoral artery in conjunction with multiple risk factor profiling can be helpful in risk stratification.
authors.affiliation: Tulane Center for Cardiovascular Health, Tulane University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.
authors.forename: Timir K
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Paul
authors.forename: Sathanur R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Srinivasan
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Shengxu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: M Gene
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Bond
authors.forename: Rong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Gerald S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Berenson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D044383:Black People; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D005263:Femoral Artery / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007328:Insulin / Q000097:blood; D008145:Louisiana / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology; D013599:Systole / Q000502:physiology; D017540:Tunica Media / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D014463:Ultrasonography; D049629:Waist-Hip Ratio; D044465:White People; D001741:Black or African American
chemical_list: D007328:Insulin; D002784:Cholesterol