title: Carotid artery intima-media thickness and stiffness index β changes in normal children: role of age, height and sex.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The need for early markers of atherosclerosis in paediatric ages has been emphasized recently. Few data are available on the behaviour of carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) and arterial stiffness in normal children.
  
  
  METHODS
  We studied prospectively 131 healthy children (78 boys), aged 3-16 years, by high-definition ultrasonography and echo-tracking technique in order to evaluate cIMT and stiffness index β.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Stiffness index β underwent a significant age-related increase (P < 0.001), and a positive relationship between cIMT and height was found in boys. In addition, stiffness index β and cIMT were not related to each other (P = 0.97).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study provides information about two markers of subclinical atherosclerosis, cIMT and carotid stiffness index β, in normal children aged 3-16 years. We found a significant age-related and height-related increase of stiffness index β in both sexes, whereas cIMT was positively related to height only in boys.
authors.affiliation: aDepartment of Pediatric, Gynecologic, Microbiologic and Biomedical Sciences bDepartment of Clinical and Experimental Medicine cDepartment of SEFISAT, University of Messina, Messina dDepartment of Cardiovascular and Atherosclerotic Pathology, Pordenone, Italy eAurora Cardiovascular Services, Aurora Sinai/Aurora St. Luke's Medical Centers, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.
authors.forename: Maria Pia
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Calabrò
authors.forename: Scipione
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Carerj
authors.forename: Mario Salvatore
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Russo
authors.forename: Francesco Letterio De
authors.initials: FL
authors.lastname: Luca
authors.forename: Maria Teresa Naso
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Onofrio
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Antonini-Canterin
authors.forename: Concetta
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zito
authors.forename: Lilia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Oreto
authors.forename: Lucia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Manuri
authors.forename: Bijoy K
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Khandheria
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Oreto
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D001827:Body Height; D001835:Body Weight; D002339:Carotid Arteries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D059168:Carotid Intima-Media Thickness; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D064368:Healthy Volunteers; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D012307:Risk Factors; D014463:Ultrasonography; D014481:United States; D059289:Vascular Stiffness