Burden of carotid artery atherosclerosis in Chinese adults: Implications for future risk of cardiovascular diseases:

BackgroundPopulation-based studies of ultrasound measures of carotid atherosclerosis are informative about future risks of cardiovascular disease.DesignCross-sectional studies of carotid artery atherosclerosis in 24,822 Chinese adults from the China Kadoorie Biobank and 2579 Europeans from the UK Biobank.MethodsMean intima-media thickness of the common carotid arteries and presence of carotid artery plaque were examined in the China Kadoorie Biobank study. The carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) findings in Chinese (mean age 59 years) were compared with a European population (mean age 62 years).ResultsOverall, the mean cIMT in Chinese was 0.70 mm (SD 0.16) and increased with age by 0.08 mm (SE 0.008) per 10-years older age. About 31% of the Chinese had carotid plaques and the prevalence varied 10-fold with age (6% at 40–49 to 63% at 70–89 years) and four-fold by region (range, 14%–57%). After adjustment for age, sex and region, plaque prevalence was higher in smokers than in non-smokers (36% vs. 28%) an...