The metabolic syndrome and the carotid artery structure in noninstitutionalized elderly subjects: the three-city study.
OBJECTIVE
In contrast to the young adult population, limited data are presently available regarding the epidemiology of the metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its relationship with cardiovascular disease risk in the elderly. We have investigated the frequency of the MetS and its association with the carotid artery structure in an elderly free-living population.


METHODS
The study population consists of 5585 French noninstitutionalized elderly men and women aged 65 to 85 years, free of diabetes, who participated in the multicenter Three City Study and who underwent ultrasound examination of the carotid arteries at baseline examination between March 1999 and March 2001. The MetS was defined according to the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III criteria.


RESULTS
The MetS was present in 12.1% of the study participants, with slightly higher rates in men. Subjects with the MetS had higher frequency of carotid plaques (odds ratio, 1.30; 95% CI, 1.09 to 1.55), higher intima-media thickness of the common carotid artery (odds ratio, 1.81; 95% CI, 1.37 to 2.41), and higher lumen diameter (odds ratio, 2.17; 95% CI, 1.61 to 2.94) (upper quintiles) after adjustment for other cardiovascular risk factors. This association was observed in both genders and in subjects without prevalent cardiovascular disease. Elevated blood pressure as defined in the MetS was the main determinant of the relations between the MetS and the carotid parameters, especially the lumen diameter.


CONCLUSIONS
The present data suggest that noninstitutionalized elderly subjects with the MetS have altered structure of the carotid arteries.
Empana
Jean-Philippe
JP
INSERM U780, Cardiovascular Team, Paris XI University, Hôpital Paul Brousse, Villejuif cedex, France. empana@vjf.inserm.fr
Zureik
Mahmoud
M
Gariepy
Jerome
J
Courbon
Dominique
D
Dartigues
Jean Francois
JF
Ritchie
Karen
K
Tzourio
Christophe
C
Alperovitch
Annick
A
Ducimetiere
Pierre
P
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002339:Carotid Arteries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D002340:Carotid Artery Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005602:France / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000453:epidemiology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014463:Ultrasonography