Common Carotid Intima-Media Thickness Predicts Occurrence of Carotid Atherosclerotic Plaques: Longitudinal Results From the Aging Vascular Study - EVA

Jan 23, 2005
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Date Published:
01/01/2000
Date Updated:
01/23/2005
Original Posted Date:
01/23/2005
References

Description:

The present study used the Aging Vascular Study (EVA) dataset to evaluate the association of baseline carotid artery intima-media thickness and occurrence of carotid atherosclerotic plaques.

Hypothesis:

Carotid artery intima-media wall thickness is related to future occurrence of carotid artery atherosclerotic plaques.

Study Design

Study Design:

Patients Screened: 1,389
Patients Enrolled: 1,010
Mean Follow Up: Four years
Mean Patient Age: 59 to 71
Female: 59

Patient Populations:

Volunteers age 59 to 71 recruited from the electoral rolls in the city of Nantes in Western France during June 1991 and July 1993

Exclusions:

Patients undergoing carotid artery surgery during follow-up and patients with plaque regression during follow-up, patients with unreliable baseline ultrasound exams based on interreader reproducibility studies, and patients who did not participate in the EVA follow-up survey

Primary Endpoints:

Occurrence of carotid artery plaques in sections of artery documented as normal at baseline

Drug/Procedures Used:

EVA was a longitudinal study of cognitive and vascular aging. The present manuscript is one of multiple publications using the EVA dataset. Other manuscripts have included analyses of hormone replacement therapy, cognitive decline, and alcohol consumption using the EVA population.

Principal Findings:

A total of 1,010 patients from the EVA study were analyzed. During a four-year follow-up, 185 subjects (18.3%) developed new carotid plaques. Baseline age, male gender, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, history of smoking, and presence of carotid artery plaques were associated with higher occurrence of new carotid artery plaques. Subjects were analyzed by quartile of baseline common carotid artery intima-media wall thickness (CCA-IMT).

Compared with the lowest quartile of CCA-IMT, the age- and sex-adjusted odds ratio (OR) of carotid plaque occurrence was 2.66 for the second and third quartiles (confidence interval [CI] 1.58-4.46, p<0.001) and 3.67 for the highest quartile (CI 2.09-6.44, p<0.001). When CCA-IMT was used as a continuous variable, multivariate ORs of plaque occurrence associated with a 0.10 mm increase in CCA-IMT were 1.24 for all subjects (CI 1.06-1.43, p<0.005).

Interpretation:

Among volunteer patients aged 59-71, common carotid artery intima-media thickness was associated with carotid plaque occurrence, even after adjustment for age and gender.

References:

Zureik M, Ducimetière P, Touboul PJ, et al. Common carotid intima-media thickness predicts occurrence of carotid atherosclerotic plaques: longitudinal results from the Aging Vascular Study (EVA) study. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol 2000;20:1622-9.

Keywords: Odds Ratio, Volunteers, Cognition, Plaque, Atherosclerotic, Follow-Up Studies, Carotid Intima-Media Thickness, Extravehicular Activity, Hypercholesterolemia, Smoking, Confidence Intervals, Carotid Stenosis, Hormone Replacement Therapy, Hypertension


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