Metabolic syndrome may be a risk factor for early carotid atherosclerosis in women but not in men.
OBJECTIVE
Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a cluster of metabolic abnormalities and a predictor of both type 2 diabetes mellitus and adverse cardiovascular events. Whether there are gender differences in the association between early atherosclerosis and MetS has not yet been thoroughly elucidated.


METHODS
The subjects consisted of 388 men aged 64+/-16 years and 480 women aged 70+/-13 years. Early atherosclerosis was assessed by carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) on B-mode ultrasonography.


RESULTS
Carotid IMT values were significantly greater in both male (p=0.007) and female (p=0.002) subjects with MetS. After adjusting for established risk factors, the difference persisted on a significant level in women (p=0.003), but was weak in men (p=0.013). Multiple regression analysis using IMT as an objective variable, with adjustment for various risk factors as explanatory variables, showed that MetS (p=0.016) was a significant independent contributing factor along with known risk factors only in women. Among the components of MetS, hypertension (p=0.036) and dyslipidemia (p=0.008) had a strong impact on carotid IMT in men, whereas hypertension (p=0.003) ranked first in women.


CONCLUSIONS
The effect of MetS in early carotid atherosclerosis is more pronounced in women than in men, and the impact of MetS components on carotid IMT differs between men and women.
Kawamoto
Ryuichi
R
Department of Internal Medicine, Nomura Municipal Hospital, Japan. rykawamo@ehime.med.or.jp
Tomita
Hitomi
H
Inoue
Ai
A
Ohtsuka
Nobuyuki
N
Kamitani
Atsushi
A
D017668:Age of Onset; D000368:Aged; D002340:Carotid Artery Diseases / Q000209:etiology*; D050171:Dyslipidemias; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000150:complications*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors