Association of Coronary Artery Stenosis with Carotid Atherosclerosis in Asymptomatic Type 2 Diabetic Patients

AIMS: Carotid atherosclerosis assessed by ultrasound is an established surrogate marker for systemic atherosclerosis. This study aimed to evaluate the association between coronary artery stenosis assessed by coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) and intima-media thickness (IMT) in asymptomatic type 2 diabetic patients. METHODS: In a cross-sectional study, carotid IMT was measured by ultrasound and CCTA in 169 asymptomatic type 2 diabetic patients. RESULTS: Among 169 patients, 77 (46%) had coronary artery stenosis on CCTA. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed four independent predictors of coronary artery stenosis: diabetes duration (OR 4.07, 95%CI 2.34-7.12; p< 0.001), gender (OR 1.66, 95% CI 1.05-2.61; p=0.029), dyslipidemia (OR 2.07, 95%CI 1.34-3.18; p=0.001), and max-IMT (OR 2.71, 95%CI 1.70-4.33; p< 0.001). By ROC curve analyses, the area under the curve (AUC) for max-IMT was 0.73 (95%CI 0.66-0.81; p< 0.001) and mean-IMT was 0.64 (95%CI 0.56-0.73; p=0.001). The cut-off level for the greatest sensitivity and specificity for max-IMT was 1.55 mm (sensitivity 0.90, specificity 0.46), and mean-IMT was 1.05 mm (sensitivity 0.55, specificity 0.72). CONCLUSION: Carotid IMT was associated with coronary artery stenosis assessed by CCTA in asymptomatic type 2 diabetic patients. Measurement of both mean- and max-carotid IMT is useful for selecting asymptomatic type 2 diabetic patients who should undergo CCTA screening.