title: Survey of atherosclerotic disease in Asian subjects with cardiovascular disease risk factors who were not receiving lipid-lowering agents.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Carotid intima media thickness (CIMT) is a surrogate marker for atherosclerosis, used to identify asymptomatic individuals at increased risk of cardiovascular events. The primary objective of this study was to obtain the distribution of CIMT measurements in Asian individuals with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors who were not receiving lipid-lowering agents.
  
  
  METHODS
  Mean CIMT based on ultrasonographic measurement of 12 sites within the common carotid artery was recorded for 2726 subjects across eight Asian countries who had two or more CVD risk factors but were not receiving lipid-lowering therapy. CVD risk factors and lipid and glucose profiles were analyzed with respect to distribution of CIMT and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) values.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The overall mean (SD) of mean CIMT (mean-mean CIMT) was 0.662 (0.16) mm. There was a significant variation in mean-mean CIMT across countries (P<0.0001). Mean-mean CIMT values (mm) by age were: 0.485, 0.527, 0.614, 0.665, 0.715 and 0.797 for ≤ 29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69 and ≥ 70 years, respectively. Multivariate analyses confirmed a significant association between increasing mean-mean CIMT and increasing age, male gender, low high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) levels and elevated fasting blood glucose levels. Analysis of log-transformed hs-CRP levels showed significant association with increasing waist circumference, low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, body-mass index, high blood glucose levels and low HDL-C.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data show normative mean-mean CIMT data for Asian subjects with two or more CVD risk factors who are not receiving lipid-lowering therapy, which may guide CVD risk-stratification of asymptomatic individuals in Asia.
authors.affiliation: Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: ohbhmed@snu.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Byung-Hee
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.forename: Rinambaan W M
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Kaligis
authors.forename: Yongjun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Felix Eduardo R
authors.initials: FE
authors.lastname: Punzalan
authors.forename: Nijasri C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Suwanwela
authors.forename: Viet Lan
authors.initials: VL
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.forename: Tsong-Hai
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Kui-Hian
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Sim
authors.forename: Yohji
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Itoh
authors.forename: Namrata
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bahadur
authors.forename: Joy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Leong
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D044466:Asian People; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology; D059168:Carotid Intima-Media Thickness; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Asia; Atherosclerosis; Cardiovascular disease risk factor; Carotid intima media thickness; Ethnicity