BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Cross-sectional studies describe a positive association between common carotid artery intima-media thickness (CCA-IMT) and carotid plaques (CP). However, longitudinal data on the predictive value of CCA-IMT for occurrence of CP are limited. Therefore, the role of increasing CCA-IMT in the atherosclerotic process is still discussed controversially. METHODS: We investigated the predictive value of CCA-IMT and the Framingham risk score (FRS) for incident CP formation in a population-based longitudinal study of 1922 subjects aged 45 to 81 years who underwent ultrasonography of both carotid arteries and received vascular risk factor assessment at baseline and after 5 years. CP was defined as any protruding focal thickening of the intima-media complex. Incident CP formation during follow-up was defined as the appearance of at least 1 CP in a previously plaque-free arterial segment (right and left common, internal, and external carotid arteries and carotid bifurcation). RESULTS: Among the 636 subjects without CP at baseline, 418 (66%) had at least 1 incident CP during follow-up. In a multivariable negative binominal regression model adjusted for age, gender, and the FRS, the number of arterial segments affected by incident CP was 1.53-fold higher (CI, 1.12-2.07; P<0.01) for subjects in the highest quartile of the overall CCA-IMT distribution compared to those in the lowest quartile. CONCLUSIONS: Both CCA-IMT and FRS independently predict incident CP formation. The risk of CP formation may actually be underestimated in subjects with low FRS and high IMT.
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Cross-sectional studies describe a positive association between common carotid artery intima-media thickness (CCA-IMT) and carotid plaques (CP). However, longitudinal data on the predictive value of CCA-IMT for occurrence of CP are limited. Therefore, the role of increasing CCA-IMT in the atherosclerotic process is still discussed controversially. METHODS: We investigated the predictive value of CCA-IMT and the Framingham risk score (FRS) for incident CP formation in a population-based longitudinal study of 1922 subjects aged 45 to 81 years who underwent ultrasonography of both carotid arteries and received vascular risk factor assessment at baseline and after 5 years. CP was defined as any protruding focal thickening of the intima-media complex. Incident CP formation during follow-up was defined as the appearance of at least 1 CP in a previously plaque-free arterial segment (right and left common, internal, and external carotid arteries and carotid bifurcation). RESULTS: Among the 636 subjects without CP at baseline, 418 (66%) had at least 1 incident CP during follow-up. In a multivariable negative binominal regression model adjusted for age, gender, and the FRS, the number of arterial segments affected by incident CP was 1.53-fold higher (CI, 1.12-2.07; P<0.01) for subjects in the highest quartile of the overall CCA-IMT distribution compared to those in the lowest quartile. CONCLUSIONS: Both CCA-IMT and FRS independently predict incident CP formation. The risk of CP formation may actually be underestimated in subjects with low FRS and high IMT.
Authors: Matthias W Lorenz; Joseph F Polak; Maryam Kavousi; Ellisiv B Mathiesen; Henry Völzke; Tomi-Pekka Tuomainen; Dirk Sander; Matthieu Plichart; Alberico L Catapano; Christine M Robertson; Stefan Kiechl; Tatjana Rundek; Moïse Desvarieux; Lars Lind; Caroline Schmid; Pronabesh DasMahapatra; Lu Gao; Kathrin Ziegelbauer; Michiel L Bots; Simon G Thompson Journal: Lancet Date: 2012-04-27 Impact factor: 79.321
Authors: M Trelles; K M Eberhardt; M Buchholz; A Schindler; A Bayer-Karpinska; M Dichgans; M F Reiser; K Nikolaou; T Saam Journal: AJNR Am J Neuroradiol Date: 2013-07-18 Impact factor: 3.825
Authors: P-J Touboul; M G Hennerici; S Meairs; H Adams; P Amarenco; N Bornstein; L Csiba; M Desvarieux; S Ebrahim; R Hernandez Hernandez; M Jaff; S Kownator; T Naqvi; P Prati; T Rundek; M Sitzer; U Schminke; J-C Tardif; A Taylor; E Vicaut; K S Woo Journal: Cerebrovasc Dis Date: 2012-11-01 Impact factor: 2.762
Authors: Matthias W Lorenz; Jackie F Price; Christine Robertson; Michiel L Bots; Joseph F Polak; Holger Poppert; Maryam Kavousi; Marcus Dörr; Eva Stensland; Pierre Ducimetiere; Kimmo Ronkainen; Stefan Kiechl; Matthias Sitzer; Tatjana Rundek; Lars Lind; Jing Liu; Göran Bergström; Liliana Grigore; Lena Bokemark; Alfonsa Friera; David Yanez; Horst Bickel; M Arfan Ikram; Henry Völzke; Stein Harald Johnsen; Jean Philippe Empana; Tomi-Pekka Tuomainen; Peter Willeit; Helmuth Steinmetz; Moise Desvarieux; Wuxiang Xie; Caroline Schmidt; Giuseppe D Norata; Carmen Suarez; Dirk Sander; Albert Hofman; Ulf Schminke; Ellisiv Mathiesen; Matthieu Plichart; Jussi Kauhanen; Johann Willeit; Ralph L Sacco; Stela McLachlan; Dong Zhao; Björn Fagerberg; Alberico L Catapano; Rafael Gabriel; Oscar H Franco; Alpaslan Bülbül; Frank Scheckenbach; Anja Pflug; Lu Gao; Simon G Thompson Journal: Diabetes Care Date: 2015-07-15 Impact factor: 19.112