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Aim: The present study aimed to evaluate the relationship between the change of carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) and clinical characteristics in Japanese patients without a history of cardiovascular disease., Methods: The study participants were 149 Japanese patients without a history of cardiovascular disease treated in our outpatient department. The in all participants CIMT was measured with ultrasonography at baseline and after a mean interval of 2.4 years. Study participants were divided into a middle-aged group (younger than 65 years: n = 59) and an elderly group (65 years or older: n = 90). The annual CIMT change (ΔCIMT) was calculated, and the associations between ΔCIMT and clinical characteristics, including age, were evaluated in both groups., Results: The ΔCIMT was significantly correlated with age in all participants (r = 0.222; P < 0.05) and in elderly participants (r = 0.234; P < 0.05), but was not correlated with other risk factors. The annual ΔCIMT was significantly higher in elderly participants (0.015 ± 0.096 mm) than in middle-aged participants (-0.018 ± 0.088 mm; P < 0.05). Multivariate linear regression analysis with ΔCIMT as a dependent variable and risk factors as independent variables showed that ΔCIMT was significantly associated with age in all participants (β = 0.002; P < 0.05) and in elderly participants (β = 0.004; P < 0.05), but not with other risk factors., Conclusions: Annual CIMT change is associated with age, rather than with other clinical characteristics, including traditional cardiovascular risk factors, such as diabetes and hypertension, in elderly Japanese patients without a history of cardiovascular disease., (© 2014 Japan Geriatrics Society.)

This study evaluated the association between fibrosis-4 (FIB 4) index and arterial damage or future risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) in type 2 diabetes. The study subjects were 253 patients with type 2 diabetes. The FIB4 index, as a marker of hepatic fibrosis based on age, aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase levels, and platelet count, was calculated for all subjects. Carotid intima-media thickness (IMT), carotid artery calcification (CAC), and aortic arch calcification (AAC) grade (0–2) were assessed as atherosclerotic variables. The Suita score was calculated as the future risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). We assessed whether the FIB4 index was associated with both atherosclerotic variables and the Suita score. FIB4 index was significantly associated with IMT (r = 0.241, P < 0.001) and Suita score (r = 0.291, P < 0.001). Subjects with CAC showed a significantly higher FIB4 index score compared to subjects without (1.70 ± 0.74 and 1.24 ± 0.69, respectively, P < 0.001), whereas the FIB4 index was significantly elevated with a higher grade of AAC (1.24 ± 0.74, 1.56 ± 0.66, and 1.79 ± 0.71, respectively, P < 0.001). Linear regression analysis adjusted for clinical characteristics indicated that the FIB4 index was positively associated with IMT, Suita score, CAC, and AAC grade (β = 0.241, P = 0.004 ; β = 2.994, P < 0.001 ; β = 0.139, P = 0.001 ; and β = 0.265, P < 0.001 , respectively). FIB4 index is closely associated with arterial damage and future risk of CHD in type 2 diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study aimed to compare the usefulness of arterial stiffness parameters, cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI) and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV), for evaluating arterial damage and risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in subjects with diabetes.Methods: The study subjects were 277 patients with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. All subjects were evaluated for vascular stiffness using CAVI (n = 154) or baPWV (n = 123). Carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) and the Suita score were also measured because these are established risk factors for future CVD. Associations of both CAVI and baPWV with these established parameters were evaluated in all subjects, and then in 174 subjects with adjustment for covariates by using propensity score matching.Results: In all subjects, CAVI and baPWV correlated significantly with both IMT (r = 0.462, P < 0.001, and r = 0.212, P = 0.019, respectively) and the Suita score (r = 0.573, P < 0.001, and r = 0.373, P < 0.001, respectively). The correlation between CAVI and IMT was more significant than that between baPWV and IMT (Z = 2.33, P = 0.020). Similarly, the correlation between CAVI and the Suita score was more significant than that between baPWV and the Suita score (Z = 2.13, P = 0.033). After adjustment by propensity score matching, significant correlations between CAVI and IMT (r = 0.432 P < 0.001) and between CAVI and the Suita score (r = 0.544, P < 0.001) were preserved, though only the association between baPWV and the Suita score was significant (r = 0.289, P = 0.007) while that between baPWV and IMT showed no significance. Again, CAVI showed a significant association with the Suita score than baPWV (Z = 2.02, P = 0.043).Conclusions: CAVI is more closely associated than baPWV with arterial damage and risk of CVD in patients with diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluated the associations between aortic arch calcification (AAC) with pericardial fat (PF) mass detected on a single chest X-ray image and predictive variables of future cardiovascular disease (CVD). The subjects were 353 patients treated with at least one of the hypertension, dyslipidemia or diabetes. All subjects were evaluated for AAC; divided into 3 groups with AAC grades of 0, 1, or 2; and examined for the presence of PF. Carotid intima-media thickness (IMT, n = 353), cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI, n = 218), the Suita score (n = 353), and cardiovascular risk points defined in the Hisayama study (n = 353), an assessment of the risk of future cardiovascular disease, were measured. The relationship of AAC grades, with or without PF, and CVD risks was evaluated. The IMT (1.62 ± 0.74 mm, 2.33 ± 1.26, and 2.43 ± 0.89 in patients with AAC grade 0, 1 and 2, respectively, p < 0.001), CAVI (8.09 ± 1.32, 8.71 ± 1.32, and 9.37 ± 1.17, respectively, p < 0.001), the Suita score (46.6 ± 10.7, 51.8 ± 8.3, and 54.2 ± 8.2, respectively, p < 0.001), and cardiovascular risk points (8.5 ± 2.6, 10.6 ± 2.3, and 11.5 ± 2.3, respectively, p < 0.001) were significantly elevated with AAC progression. Multinomial logistic regression analysis adjusted for clinical characteristics showed that the relative risk ratios of the Suita score or cardiovascular risk points were elevated according to the progress of AAC grade with PF. Therefore, aortic arch calcification with pericardial mass detected on a single chest X-ray image is closely associated with the predictive variables of future CVD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]