Coronary artery calcification and ethnicity.

Differences in risk factors do not fully explain the differences in the prevalence of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) in various ethnicities. Coronary artery calcification (CAC) is an established marker of subclinical coronary artery disease. Several published studies within and outside the United States (US) have shown that racial and ethnic differences exist regarding prevalence and severity of CAC. Although ethnic-specific CAC nomograms are used for more accurate prediction of ASCVD events, some reports suggest a linear relationship between coronary artery calcium (CAC) scoring and ASCVD regardless of age, sex and ethnicity. We performed a comprehensive review of available studies on ethnic differences in coronary calcification in MEDLINE, Cochrane library and BioMed Central databases. We review in detail the differences in CAC in predominant racial groups residing within the US, including whites, blacks, Hispanics, East and South Asians. Furthermore, we discuss available data from outside the US, mainly originating in Europe, Japan, and Korea.