title: Prevalence of atherosclerotic plaque in young and middle-aged asymptomatic individuals: the Bogalusa heart study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the prevalence of carotid and femoral artery atherosclerotic plaque in a community-based population of asymptomatic African American and white men and women, with an age range of 29 to 51 years, and the potential relations with cardiovascular risk factors.
  
  
  METHODS
  Between 2007 and 2010, 914 subjects, 58% women and 69% white, who were part of the Bogalusa Heart Study, an ongoing study of a southern biracial community in Bogalusa, Louisiana, were followed up from childhood through adulthood and assessed for plaque formation using ultrasound. Of the total number of subjects, those with a history of cardiovascular/cerebrovascular events were excluded.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Plaque prevalence ranged from 8% to 14%, with greater frequency in white men. Plaque formation was also associated with smoking, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, age, and white race, in descending order.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this population, studied sequentially since 1973, the presence of plaque correlated with widely recognized cardiovascular risk factors, although we did not detect significant contributions from either obesity or elevated lipids, including low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. It is possible that interventions, such as diet alteration and statin therapy, may have a positive impact on these potential contributors to plaque formation, and hypertension, diabetes mellitus and smoking remain of great importance.
authors.affiliation: Tulane Center for Cardiovascular Health and the Department of Neurology, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA, USA.
authors.forename: Roger Everett
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Kelley
authors.forename: Pronabesh
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dasmahapatra
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Sathanur R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Srinivasan
authors.forename: Camilo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fernandez
authors.forename: Jihua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Sheryl
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Martin-Schild
authors.forename: Gerald S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Berenson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D044383:Black People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002339:Carotid Arteries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005263:Femoral Artery / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000453:epidemiology; D016015:Logistic Models; D008145:Louisiana / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D058226:Plaque, Atherosclerotic / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D014463:Ultrasonography; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001741:Black or African American