Coronary Artery Calcification and Carotid Artery Intima-Media Thickness
Coronary Artery Calcification and Carotid Artery Intima-Media Thickness
Coronary artery calcification (CAC) and common carotid artery intima-media thickness (CIMT) are measures of subclinical vascular disease. This 2000-2006 study aimed to characterize the associations among coronary artery disease risk factors, CAC quantity, and CIMT and to estimate shared genetic and environmental contributions to both CAC and CIMT among 478 asymptomatic Amish adults in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Heritability for CAC quantity and CIMT, adjusted for age and sex, was 0.42 (P = 0.0001) and 0.29 (P = 0.003), respectively. CAC quantity and CIMT were modestly correlated (adjusted r = 0.14, P = 0.003) but showed little evidence of shared genetic or environmental factors. However, significant genetic correlations were found for CAC quantity and total cholesterol (0.44 (standard error, 0.19); P = 0.03), for CAC quantity and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (0.55 (standard error, 0.17); P = 0.005), and for CIMT and waist circumference (0.58 (standard error, 0.25); P = 0.046), suggesting shared genes for these risk factors and measures of subclinical disease. Results suggest that some of the same genes influence variation in CAC and low density lipoprotein cholesterol, whereas a different set of genes influences variation in CIMT and waist circumference.
Coronary artery calcification (CAC) and common carotid artery intima-media thickness (CIMT) are noninvasive markers of subclinical vascular disease. Presence and quantity of CAC, as detected with computed tomography, are associated with coronary artery disease risk factors and are predictive of future coronary artery disease events. Likewise, in several prospective, population-based studies, CIMT, as measured by B-mode ultrasound, has been shown to predict coronary artery disease events.
Although CAC and CIMT both reflect presence of subclinical vascular disease, development of atherosclerosis is not uniform across different anatomic sites. Moreover, deposition of calcium in the coronary arteries and thickening of the carotid arterial wall may be influenced by overlapping sets of environmental and genetic risk factors. Understanding how these various factors differentially influence development of these 2 markers of subclinical atherosclerosis may provide important insights into interindividual variation in the development of coronary artery disease.
CAC quantity and CIMT have rarely been measured concurrently in the same individuals in a research setting, and the relation of these measures to each other and the degree to which they share risk factors are not clear. The purposes of this study were to characterize the relation between CAC quantity and CIMT, to compare and contrast associations of both with coronary artery disease risk factors, and to estimate the shared genetic and environmental contributions to variation among CAC quantity, CIMT, and coronary artery disease risk factors. Thus, we measured CAC and CIMT in the same subjects from an Old Order Amish population from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. This population is well suited for such a study because the Amish have a socially and culturally homogeneous lifestyle, use prescription medications relatively sparingly, and experience low rates of smoking.
Coronary artery calcification (CAC) and common carotid artery intima-media thickness (CIMT) are measures of subclinical vascular disease. This 2000-2006 study aimed to characterize the associations among coronary artery disease risk factors, CAC quantity, and CIMT and to estimate shared genetic and environmental contributions to both CAC and CIMT among 478 asymptomatic Amish adults in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Heritability for CAC quantity and CIMT, adjusted for age and sex, was 0.42 (P = 0.0001) and 0.29 (P = 0.003), respectively. CAC quantity and CIMT were modestly correlated (adjusted r = 0.14, P = 0.003) but showed little evidence of shared genetic or environmental factors. However, significant genetic correlations were found for CAC quantity and total cholesterol (0.44 (standard error, 0.19); P = 0.03), for CAC quantity and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (0.55 (standard error, 0.17); P = 0.005), and for CIMT and waist circumference (0.58 (standard error, 0.25); P = 0.046), suggesting shared genes for these risk factors and measures of subclinical disease. Results suggest that some of the same genes influence variation in CAC and low density lipoprotein cholesterol, whereas a different set of genes influences variation in CIMT and waist circumference.
Coronary artery calcification (CAC) and common carotid artery intima-media thickness (CIMT) are noninvasive markers of subclinical vascular disease. Presence and quantity of CAC, as detected with computed tomography, are associated with coronary artery disease risk factors and are predictive of future coronary artery disease events. Likewise, in several prospective, population-based studies, CIMT, as measured by B-mode ultrasound, has been shown to predict coronary artery disease events.
Although CAC and CIMT both reflect presence of subclinical vascular disease, development of atherosclerosis is not uniform across different anatomic sites. Moreover, deposition of calcium in the coronary arteries and thickening of the carotid arterial wall may be influenced by overlapping sets of environmental and genetic risk factors. Understanding how these various factors differentially influence development of these 2 markers of subclinical atherosclerosis may provide important insights into interindividual variation in the development of coronary artery disease.
CAC quantity and CIMT have rarely been measured concurrently in the same individuals in a research setting, and the relation of these measures to each other and the degree to which they share risk factors are not clear. The purposes of this study were to characterize the relation between CAC quantity and CIMT, to compare and contrast associations of both with coronary artery disease risk factors, and to estimate the shared genetic and environmental contributions to variation among CAC quantity, CIMT, and coronary artery disease risk factors. Thus, we measured CAC and CIMT in the same subjects from an Old Order Amish population from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. This population is well suited for such a study because the Amish have a socially and culturally homogeneous lifestyle, use prescription medications relatively sparingly, and experience low rates of smoking.
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