title: Progression of segment-specific carotid artery intima-media thickness in young adults (from the Bogalusa Heart Study).
abstract: Carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) progression is predictive of future cardiovascular events in middle-age and older adults. However, information is scant on segment-specific CIMT progression by race (black vs white) and gender and its predictors during short-term follow-up in asymptomatic young adults. B-mode ultrasound images of the far walls of both carotid arteries were obtained in 842 subjects aged 24 to 43 years and enrolled in the Bogalusa Heart Study (70% whites and 42% men). The CIMT and cardiometabolic risk variables were measured at baseline and after an average of 2.4 years. The mean CIMT progression rates/year adjusted for age, race, and gender were greatest at the bulb, followed by the internal and common carotid segments (p <0.0001). In a multivariate logistic model, age, mean arterial pressure, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol were significantly associated with common CIMT progression. Smoking, age, insulin resistance index, and mean arterial pressure were significantly associated with bulb CIMT progression; and the waist/height ratio, smoking, age, and mean arterial pressure were significantly associated with internal CIMT progression, independent of the baseline CIMT and traditional cardiometabolic risk variables, including adiponectin, C-reactive protein, and intercellular adhesion molecules. In addition, the status of progression was associated with a greater prevalence of metabolic syndrome (common and internal CIMT, p <0.05; bulb CIMT, p <0.0001) and diabetes (bulb CIMT only, p <0.001). In conclusion, in younger adults, the magnitude of progression of CIMT within a short period varied in a segment-specific manner, regardless of race or gender, and was predictable using modifiable traditional risk factors. This could have implications for preventive and interventional cardiology.
authors.affiliation: Tulane Center for Cardiovascular Health, Tulane University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.
authors.forename: Quoc Manh
authors.initials: QM
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.forename: Ahmet
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Toprak
authors.forename: Ji-Hua
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Sathanur R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Srinivasan
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Gerald S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Berenson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002339:Carotid Arteries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D017539:Tunica Intima / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D017540:Tunica Media / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D014463:Ultrasonography