title: Intima-media thickness of carotid artery and susceptibility to atherosclerosis in obese children with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To test, via prospective case-control study, whether measurements of carotid artery intima-media thickness (cIMT) reflect the susceptibility to atherosclerosis in obese children with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  In all, 80 obese asymptomatic normotensive adolescents (body mass index [BMI], 29.12 +/- 5.13; 8.5-17.5 years) and 30 age- and sex-matched nonobese healthy children (BMI 18.55 +/- 2.24). Children were analysed in 4 groups: Controls formed group 1, 26 children with obesity without hepatosteatosis formed group 2, 32 children with grade 1 hepatosteatosis formed group 3, and 22 children with grade 2 or 3 hepatosteatosis formed group 4. The key parameters were BMI, liver function tests, lipid profiles, glucose, hepatic ultrasonography, and IMT of common carotid artery (CCA), left carotid bulbus (CB), and left internal carotid artery (ICA).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Comparisons of IMT measurements of left CCA, left CB, and left ICA between controls and obesity group revealed statistically significant differences (each segment P < 0.0001). There was an increase in the mean of IMT of each segment with the increase in hepatosteatosis grade (each segment P < 0.0001). The relation between the mean of IMT of left CCA, left CB, and left ICA with BMI (P = 0.001, r = 0.318), alanine aminotransferase (P = 0.007, r = 0.256), and hepatosteatosis (P < 0.0001, r = 0.470) was significant. Multiple regression analysis between left CCA, left CB, and left ICA, and age, sex, relative weight, alanine aminotransferase, total cholesterol, obesity, and hepatosteatosis grade was significant for only hepatosteatosis grade.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The cIMT is significantly higher, increasing susceptibility to atherosclerosis, in obese children with hepatosteatosis than in healthy children or obese children without hepatosteatosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Dokuz Eylül University Medical School, Izmir, Turkey. fatih.demircioglu@deu.edu.tr
authors.forename: Fatih
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Demircioğlu
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Koçyiğit
authors.forename: Nur
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Arslan
authors.forename: Handan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Cakmakçi
authors.forename: Samil
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hizli
authors.forename: Alparslan Tuncel
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Sedat
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002339:Carotid Arteries / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000473:pathology; D002340:Carotid Artery Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D005234:Fatty Liver / Q000145:classification / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008111:Liver Function Tests; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D017539:Tunica Intima / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000473:pathology; D017540:Tunica Media / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000473:pathology