Measurement of the Intima-media Thickness of the Carotid Artery as an Indicator of Atherosclerotic Lesion and its Clinical Significance

Abstract

For the assessment of the clinical significance of IMT measurement, we studied the relationship of IMT and several clinical parameters of atherosclerosis, we studied the intima-media thickness (IMT) of the common carotid artery of 896 males and 632 females using a diagnostic ultrasound system with automatic IMT measurement software. The correlation coefficient between the IMT value and age was 0.497 for men and 0.579 for women. Next, we studied the correlation between the IMT values and other examination results. We found significant correlations of IMT with systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, body mass index, HbA1c and fasting plasma glucose levels in descending order in males. For females IMT correlated with systolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, triglyceride, diastolic blood pressure, HbA1c, body mass index, HDL-cholesterol, uric acid and fasting plasma glucose levels in descending order. Thus, the increases of IMT value in the middle-aged subjects are related to the abnormalities of the most of the life-style related parameters for atherosclerosis. In summary, IMT measurements are useful means to motivate lifestyle improvement and to promote the health evaluation.