PREVALENCE OF CAROTID ATHEROSCLEROSIS IN DIABETIC-PATIENTS - ULTRASOUND HIGH-RESOLUTION B-MODE IMAGING ON CAROTID ARTERIES

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 X age] + 0.3318) and diabetic subjects (IMT = [0.0155 X 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 greater than 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.