Factors associated with carotid plaque burden in the adult general population

Aim . To study the relationship between carotid plaque burden and conventional, behavioral, and social cardiovascular risk factors. Material and methods . The object of the study was 469 people (women, 49%) from a representative sample of the general population aged 25-64 years (crosssectional ESSE-RF study) with the presence of one or more atherosclerotic plaques in the carotid arteries. The study participants underwent cardiac screening and carotid ultrasound. All respondents signed informed consent. The number of involved segments and the average plaque height were studied. The associative analysis included blocks of conventional, social, and behavioral risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. The study of relationships was carried out using linear and log-linear models. An error probability <5% was considered significant. Results . According to multivariate analysis, age (in men), male sex, smoking, systolic blood pressure (SBP), total cholesterol, heart rate, alcohol abuse, statin and β-blocker therapy were interrelated with the number of involved segments. In turn, the average plaque size was associated with age (in men), male sex, higher education, alcohol abuse, smoking, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein. Conclusion . The results obtained confirm the leading role of age (in men), smoking, SBP, total cholesterol, β-blockers as indicators of the number of involved segments. Alcohol abuse and heart rate have shown associations between the ages of 40-50 years and thus may contribute to premature atherosclerosis. Key role of age (in men), sex (among those ≥50 years old), and educational status in average plaque height in this study was confirmed. A significant contribution was also made by alcohol abuse, smoking, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein. The obtained data do not confirm the hypothesis about the contribution of atherogenic lipoproteins and SBP to average plaque height. The study results can be useful for studying the plaque burden role in risk stratification and further development of cardiovascular prevention.