BACKGROUND: The diagonal ear-lobe crease (ELC) has been suggested as a simple marker of cardiovascular disease in the general population. There is no knowledge concerning the relation between carotid intima-media thickness (IMT), an index of subclinical atherosclerosis, and diagonal ELC. The aim of our study was to assess this relation. METHODS AND RESULTS: The study population was prospectively selected from apparently healthy subjects. Sixty-five consecutive subjects with ELC and 65 age- and gender-matched control subjects without ELC were included in this study. These were examined by B-mode ultrasound to measure the IMT at the far wall of the common carotid artery. Subjects with ELC had significantly higher carotid IMT compared to control subjects without ELC (0.88+/-0.14 versus 0.69+/-0.14 mm, respectively, p=0.0001). The presence of ELC was independently associated with IMT in the multivariate logistic regression analysis. In addition, we detected a significant positive correlation between the presence of ELC and carotid IMT (r=0.558, p=0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: We have shown for the first time an association between increased carotid IMT and diagonal ELC in apparently healthy subjects.
BACKGROUND: The diagonal ear-lobe crease (ELC) has been suggested as a simple marker of cardiovascular disease in the general population. There is no knowledge concerning the relation between carotid intima-media thickness (IMT), an index of subclinical atherosclerosis, and diagonal ELC. The aim of our study was to assess this relation. METHODS AND RESULTS: The study population was prospectively selected from apparently healthy subjects. Sixty-five consecutive subjects with ELC and 65 age- and gender-matched control subjects without ELC were included in this study. These were examined by B-mode ultrasound to measure the IMT at the far wall of the common carotid artery. Subjects with ELC had significantly higher carotid IMT compared to control subjects without ELC (0.88+/-0.14 versus 0.69+/-0.14 mm, respectively, p=0.0001). The presence of ELC was independently associated with IMT in the multivariate logistic regression analysis. In addition, we detected a significant positive correlation between the presence of ELC and carotid IMT (r=0.558, p=0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: We have shown for the first time an association between increased carotid IMT and diagonal ELC in apparently healthy subjects.