[The association between smoking status and carotid artery plaque in rural areas of Eastern part of China].
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the correlation between smoking status and carotid plaque in rural population residing in Eastern part of China.


METHODS
Between July and September of 2013, an epidemiological survey was carried out in residents aged 40 or above men who were enrolled randomly in rural areas of Anqing, Anhui province and Lianyungang, Jiangsu province. The data on epidemiological characteristics including smoking status, physical examination were collected using standardized protocol, and carotid ultrasonography was applied to examine the incidence of carotid plaque among never smokers, former smokers and current smokers. Logistic regress analysis was performed to determine the effect of smoking on carotid plaque.


RESULTS
In the study, a total of 625 male participants were included in the study. 51.4% (321 cases) were current smokers, 21.3% (133 cases) were former smokers, and 27.4% (171 cases) were never smokers. 32.0% (200/625) had carotid plaque. The incidence of carotid plaques was significantly higher in current smokers (35.2%, 113/321) than that in never smokers(23.4%,40/171) (χ(2) = 7.26, P = 0.007) and the incidence in former smokers (35.3%, 47/133) was also higher than that in never smokers (23.4%, 40/171) (χ(2) = 5.23, P = 0.022). Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that current cigarette smoking is significantly associated with the increased risk of carotid plaque (OR = 1.84, 95% CI: 1.13-2.98, P = 0.014) in comparison with never smokers, and there was an interaction between current smoking and age in association with carotid plaque. Compared with the young (≤60 years old) and never smoking group (8%, 3/40), prevalence of carotid plaque among the elderly (>70 years old) and smoking group (55%, 31/56) was significantly higher (OR = 8.06, 95% CI: 2.07-31.45) after adjusting for age, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, blood glucose, total cholesterol, triglyceride high-density lipoprotein, body mass index, drinking and regional differences.


CONCLUSIONS
It found that cigarette smoking was associated with increased risk of carotid plaque in rural elderly population residing in Eastern part of China.
Institute of Biomedicine, Anhui Medicial University, Hefei 230032, China.
Jing
J
Luo
Wei
W
Cui
Yu
Y
Ding
Binyan
B
Wang
Shanqun
S
Jiang
Genfu
G
Tang
Tonghua
T
Zang
Xianhui
X
Qin
Yu
Y
Wang
Yi
Y
Wang
Fangfang
F
Fan
Yan
Y
Zhang
Jianping
J
Li
Yong
Y
Huo
Email: xipingxu126@126.com.
Xiping
X
Xu
D000368:Aged; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D001786:Blood Glucose; D001794:Blood Pressure; D015992:Body Mass Index; D016893:Carotid Stenosis; D002681:China; D002784:Cholesterol; D006801:Humans; D008075:Lipoproteins, HDL; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012424:Rural Population; D012907:Smoking; D014280:Triglycerides
D001786:Blood Glucose; C034396:HDL-triglyceride; D008075:Lipoproteins, HDL; D014280:Triglycerides; D002784:Cholesterol