@article {749, title = {Distribution and correlates of sonographically detected carotid artery disease in the Cardiovascular Health Study. The CHS Collaborative Research Group.}, journal = {Stroke}, volume = {23}, year = {1992}, month = {1992 Dec}, pages = {1752-60}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: This article describes the prevalence of extracranial carotid atherosclerosis assessed by ultrasonography, its association with risk factors, and its relation to symptomatic coronary disease and stroke in men and women aged > or = 65 years.

METHODS: Maximum percent stenosis, maximum common carotid artery wall thickness, and maximum internal carotid artery wall thickness were assessed using duplex ultrasound in 5,201 men and women aged > or = 65 years in the Cardiovascular Health Study, a study of the risk factors and natural history of cardiovascular disease in the elderly. Existing coronary disease and stroke were assessed by physical examination and participant history.

RESULTS: Detectable carotid stenosis was present in 75\% of men and 62\% of women, although the prevalence of > or = 50\% stenosis was low, 7\% in men and 5\% in women. Maximum stenosis and maximum wall thickness measurements increased with age and were uniformly greater at all ages in men than in women (p < 0.00001). Established risk factors for atherosclerosis (hypertension, smoking, diabetes) and indications of vascular disease (left ventricular hypertrophy, major electrocardiographic abnormality, bruits, and history of heart disease or stroke) related to all three carotid artery measures in the elderly. Of the three ultrasound measures, the best correlate for a history of coronary disease was maximum internal carotid artery wall thickness. For stroke the best correlate was common carotid artery wall thickness. Multiple logistic regression models of prevalent coronary heart disease and stroke that included the ultrasound findings indicated, after adjustment for age and sex, that maximum internal wall thickness and maximum common carotid wall thickness were significant correlates of both. Maximum stenosis did not add significantly to the correlation.

CONCLUSIONS: In the elderly the incidence of carotid atherosclerosis was high, although the frequency of severe disease was low. The prevalence and severity of carotid atherosclerosis continued to increase with age even in the late decades of life, and more disease was found in men than in women at all ages. Known risk factors for atherosclerosis continued to relate to carotid abnormalities in the later decades of life, both in symptomatic and asymptomatic subjects.

}, keywords = {Aged, Arteriosclerosis, Cardiomegaly, Carotid Artery Diseases, Cerebrovascular Disorders, Coronary Disease, Female, Humans, Male, Medical Records, Prevalence, Regression Analysis, Risk Factors, Ultrasonography}, issn = {0039-2499}, doi = {10.1161/01.str.23.12.1752}, author = {O{\textquoteright}Leary, D H and Polak, J F and Kronmal, R A and Kittner, S J and Bond, M G and Wolfson, S K and Bommer, W and Price, T R and Gardin, J M and Savage, P J} } @article {1486, title = {Does the association of risk factors and atherosclerosis change with age? An analysis of the combined ARIC and CHS cohorts. The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) and Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) investigators.}, journal = {Stroke}, volume = {28}, year = {1997}, month = {1997 Sep}, pages = {1693-701}, abstract = {

INTRODUCTION: A decrease in the estimated relative risk of cerebrovascular and cardiovascular diseases associated with known disease risk factors has been observed among elderly cohorts, perhaps suggesting that continued risk factor management in the elderly may not be as efficacious as with younger age groups. In this paper, the differential magnitude of the association of risk factors with atherosclerosis across the age spectrum from 45 years to older than 75 years is presented.

METHODS: Subclinical atherosclerosis as measured by carotid ultrasonography and risk factor prevalence were assessed using similar methods among participants aged 45 to 64 years in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study and among participants 65 years and older in the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS). Pooling these two cohorts provided data on the relationship of risk factors and atherosclerosis on nearly 19,000 participants over a broad age range. Regression analyses were used to assess the consistency of the magnitude of the association of risk factors with atherosclerosis across the age spectrum separately for black and white participants in cross-sectional analyses.

RESULTS: As expected, each of the risk factors was globally (across all ages) associated with increased atherosclerosis. However, the magnitude of the association did not differ across the age spectrum for hypertension, low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c), fibrinogen, or body mass index (BMI). For whites, there was a significantly greater impact of smoking and HDL-C among older age strata but a smaller impact of diabetes. For black women, the impact of HDL-C decreased among the older age strata.

CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that most risk factors continue to be associated with increased atherosclerosis at older ages, possibly suggesting a continued value in investigation of strategies to reduce atherosclerosis by controlling risk factors at older ages.

}, keywords = {African Americans, African Continental Ancestry Group, Aged, Aging, Arteriosclerosis, Body Mass Index, Cardiovascular Physiological Phenomena, Cardiovascular System, Carotid Arteries, Cholesterol, HDL, Cholesterol, LDL, Cohort Studies, European Continental Ancestry Group, Female, Fibrinogen, Health Status, Humans, Hypertension, Male, Middle Aged, Regression Analysis, Risk Factors, Sex Factors, Smoking, Tunica Intima, Tunica Media, Ultrasonography}, issn = {0039-2499}, author = {Howard, G and Manolio, T A and Burke, G L and Wolfson, S K and O{\textquoteright}Leary, D H} } @article {611, title = {Diabetes mellitus: subclinical cardiovascular disease and risk of incident cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality.}, journal = {Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol}, volume = {20}, year = {2000}, month = {2000 Mar}, pages = {823-9}, abstract = {

Previously diagnosed diabetes mellitus, newly diagnosed diabetes mellitus, and impaired glucose tolerance are important determinants of the risk of clinical cardiovascular disease (CVD). We have evaluated the relation of patients with subclinical CVD, diabetes, and impaired glucose tolerance and "normal" subjects and the risk of clinical CVD in the Cardiovascular Health Study. Diabetes (1343), impaired glucose tolerance (1433), and normal (2421) were defined by World Health Organization criteria at baseline in 1989 to 1990. The average follow-up was 6.4 years (mean age 73 years). Diabetics had a higher prevalence of clinical and subclinical CVD at baseline. Compared with diabetes in the absence of subclinical disease, the presence of subclinical CVD and diabetes was associated with significant increased adjusted relative risk of death (1.5, CI 0.93 to 2.41), relative risk of incident coronary heart disease (1.99, CI 1.25 to 3.19), and incident myocardial infarction (1.93, CI 0.96 to 3.91). The risk of clinical events was greater for participants with a history of diabetes compared with newly diagnosed diabetics at baseline. Compared with nondiabetic nonhypertensive subjects without subclinical disease, patients with a combination of diabetes, hypertension, and subclinical disease had a 12-fold increased risk of stroke. Fasting blood glucose levels were a weak predictor of incident coronary heart disease as were most other risk factors. Subclinical CVD was the primary determinant of clinical CVD among diabetics in the Cardiovascular Health Study.

}, keywords = {Aged, Arteriosclerosis, Coronary Disease, Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1, Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2, Diabetic Angiopathies, Female, Humans, Incidence, Male, Multivariate Analysis, Myocardial Infarction, Prevalence, Proportional Hazards Models, Risk Factors, Sex Distribution, Stroke}, issn = {1079-5642}, doi = {10.1161/01.atv.20.3.823}, author = {Kuller, L H and Velentgas, P and Barzilay, J and Beauchamp, N J and O{\textquoteright}Leary, D H and Savage, P J} }