Study on the relationship between metabolic syndrome and intima-media thickness

Abstract

Objective To discuss the relationship between metabolic syndrome (MS) and intima-media thickness (IMT). Methods Three-hundred and forty-eight elderly male patients with MS were considered as MS group, while 75 cases without MS as a control. The metabolite components, including body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and carotid intima-media thickness (IMT), were compared between groups. The related factors of IMT were analyzed using Pearson correlation analysis and multiple factors Logistic regression. Results In MS group the incidences of carotid artery atherosclerosis [71.6%(249/348) vs. 45.3%(34/75), χ2=19.155, P=0.000], plaque [53.7%(187/348) vs. 33.3%(25/75), χ2=10.274, P=0.001]and unstable plaques [33.0%(115/348)vs. 16.0%(12/75), χ2=8.534, P=0.003]were significantly higher than those in the control group. Furthermore, Logistic regression analysis showed that the risk factors for IMT were SBP (OR=1.782, 95%CI: 1.447-2.195), TG (OR=1.815, 95%CI: 1.528-2.156), FPG (OR=1.921, 95%CI: 1.389-2.657) and HDL-C (OR=0.624, 95%CI: 0.511-0.762). Conclusions The metabolic components can increase the risk of carotid atherosclerosis in elderly male patients with MS, and the risk increases with the degree of carotid artery atherosclerosis. Key words: Metabolic syndrome X; Atherosclerosis; Carotid arteries; Obesity