2020 Volume 34 Issue 5 Pages 710-717
Objective: To perform a cross-sectional and longitudinal study on carotid echocardiography (CE) findings.
Methods: Based on CE evaluations, we divided subjects into three groups: a normal group (A), group with IMC thickening of 1.1 mm or more and plaque formation of less than 20% of carotid artery ratio (CAR) (B), and a group with plaque formation of more than 20% of CAR (C). We determined related factors using multivariate analysis (MA). The changes between past and present CE findings were divided into an improvement group, an unchanged group, and a deterioration group. Differences between the values of the explanatory variables (EV) were calculated and the relationships between them and CE findings were statistically examined.
Results: MA conducted on two groups, A and B+C, revealed significant differences in age, gender, systolic blood pressure (SBP), HDL-C, and LDL-C, and the standard partial regression coefficient for age was remarkably high. There were no significant differences in MA between the A + B group and the C group except for in age and gender, but fasting plasma glucose tended to be higher in the C group. Examination of changes in CE findings over time and changes in EV using Cox regression showed that increased creatinine (crea) levels and decreased BMI were associated with worsening findings.
Conclusion: Atherosclerotic findings in CE were greatly affected by aging, and the markers of dyslipidemia and SBP were useful for detecting abnormalities. The results suggested that an increase in plaque was related to impaired glucose tolerance. Deterioration in CE findings over time was associated with an increase in crea levels and a decrease in BMI.
