Prevalence of Carotid Atherosclerosis in Diabetic Patients Ultrasound high-resolution B-mode imaging on carotid arteries

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To quantitatively assess atherosclerosis of the carotid artery in subjects with and without diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Ultrasound high resolution B-mode imaging of carotid arteries was conducted on 71 nondiabetic subjects without hyperlipidemia or hypertension and 295 diabetic patients to determine IMT of the arterial wall. RESULTS: IMT was linearly related with age in nondiabetic (IMT = [0.0087 × age] + 0.3318) and diabetic subjects (IMT = [0.0155 × age] + 0.32450). The regression coefficient for age was significantly greater in diabetic than nondiabetic subjects. IMT (mean ± SD) of diabetic subjects aged 20–29 was significantly > that of nondiabetic subjects aged 20–29 (0.73 ± 0.27 vs. 0.52 ± 0.07 mm, P < 0.01). Multivariate regression analysis of 275 NIDDM patients indicated smoking, hyperlipidemia, duration of diabetes, hypertension, and age were factors determining thickness of the carotid arterial wall. CONCLUSIONS: Diabetes, along with age, hyperlipidemia, smoking, and hypertension, aggravates carotid atherosclerosis.