title: Asymptomatic polyvascular abnormalities in community (APAC) study in China: objectives, design and baseline characteristics.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The population-based "Asymptomatic Polyvascular Abnormalities in Community (APAC) Study was designed to examine prevalence and associations of asymptomatic polyvascular abnormalities (APA) in a general population. In this report, the objectives, design and baseline data of the APAC study are described.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study included 5,440 participants (40.1% women) with an age of 40+ years who were randomly selected from the population of the Kailuan Study which included 101,510 employees and retirees of the Kailuan Co. Ltd, a large coal mine industry located in Tangshan, Hebei, China. Exclusion criteria were previous cerebral stroke, transient ischemic attacks and coronary heart disease. In 2010 and 2011, information on potential cardiovascular risk factors was collected and all participants underwent transcranial Doppler sonography, measurement of the ankle brachial index, and bilateral carotid duplex sonography. In a first follow-up examination in 2012/2013, retinal photography and spectral-domain optical coherence tomography were additionally performed. In a planned long-term follow-up, data from clinical examinations and laboratory tests and the occurrence of cardiovascular or cerebrovascular events will be collected to build up a predicting model for the risk of ischemic events.
  
  
  RESULTS
  At baseline, mean age of the participants was 55.2 ± 11.8 years, and men showed a significantly (P<0.001) higher prevalence of arterial hypertension (55.5% vs. 36.5%) and hyperlipidemia (50.7% vs. 46.0%) and a higher blood homocysteine concentration (18.68 ± 10.28 µmol/L versus 11.69 ± 6.40 µmol/L).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The APAC is the first study to prospectively evaluate the relationship between intracranial arterial stenosis, retinal nerve fiber layer changes, retinal microvascular signs, and the eventual development of cerebrovascular or cardiovascular events.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, BeijingTianTan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Beijing Tongren Eye Center, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Beijing Ophthalmology and Visual Science Key Laboratory, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Beijing Institute of Ophthalmology, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Liang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Beijing Tongren Eye Center, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Beijing Ophthalmology and Visual Science Key Laboratory, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Anxin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, BeijingTianTan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Anxing
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Channing Laboratory, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America ; Department of Nutrition, Harvard University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.
authors.forename: Xiang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Kailuan Hospital, Hebei United University, Tangshan, China.
authors.forename: Shouling
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Beijing Tongren Eye Center, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Beijing Ophthalmology and Visual Science Key Laboratory, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Wen Bin
authors.initials: WB
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, BeijingTianTan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Xingquan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Beijing Institute of Ophthalmology, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China ; Department of Ophthalmology, Medical Faculty Mannheim of the Ruprecht- Karls-University, Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Jost B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Jonas
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D055109:Ankle Brachial Index; D002339:Carotid Arteries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012160:Retina; D017585:Ultrasonography, Doppler, Transcranial; D054079:Vascular Malformations / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology*