Key result
Baseline carotid intima-media thickness was significantly correlated with total atherosclerotic score (P=0.0001), whereas the 5-year change in thickness was not (P=0.41).
Cohort (n=306)
p-value: p=0.0001
Baseline carotid intima-media thickness, but not its 5-year change, correlates with global atherosclerotic burden, supporting its use as a general marker for atherosclerosis.
Baseline cIMT may mark global atherosclerotic burden in observational cohorts; leaves open whether serial change monitoring adds value.
BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between (i) carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) at baseline as well as (ii) change in CIMT over 5 years (ΔCIMT) and atherosclerotically induced luminal narrowing in non-coronary arterial territories assessed by whole-body magnetic resonance angiography (WBMRA). METHODS AND RESULTS: In subgroups of the Prospective Investigation of Vasculature in Uppsala Seniors (PIVUS) study, US measurements of CIMT in the common carotid arteries were analysed at 70 and 75 years and ΔCIMT was calculated (n = 272). WBMRA, assessing arterial stenosis in five different territories by which also a total atherosclerotic score (TAS) was calculated, was performed at 70 years (n = 306). RESULTS: Carotid intima-media thickness in the carotid artery at baseline was correlated with TAS (P = 0.0001) when adjusted to a set of traditional risk factors for atherosclerosis, as well as to stenosis in two of the different investigated territories (aorta and lower leg, P = 0.013 and P = 0.004), but there was no significant correlation between ΔCIMT and TAS (P = 0.41). CONCLUSIONS: In the present study, CIMT, but not ΔCIMT over 5 years, in the carotid artery was related to overall stenoses in the body, as assessed by WBMRA. These findings support CIMT as a general marker for atherosclerosis.
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Lundberg et al. (2014) conducted a cohort in Atherosclerosis (n=306). Carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) was evaluated on Total atherosclerotic score (TAS) assessed by whole-body magnetic resonance angiography (p=0.0001). Baseline carotid intima-media thickness was significantly correlated with total atherosclerotic score (P=0.0001), whereas the 5-year change in thickness was not (P=0.41).
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