Intimal medial thickness of the carotid artery in South Indian diabetic and non-diabetic subjects: the Chennai Urban Population Study (CUPS)

Aim/hypothesis. Increased intimal medial thickness (IMT) of the carotid art eries is considered a useful marker of atherosclerosis. The aim of this stu dy was to compare the intimal medial thickness values in urban non-diabetic and diabetic South Indian subjects who have a high risk of coronary artery disease. Methods. The subjects for this study were 140 diabetic and 103 non-diabetic control subjects matched with them for age and sex selected from The Chenn ai Urban Population Study which is an ongoing epidemiological study. Intima l medial thickness of the right common carotid artery was determined using high resolution B mode ultrasonography, Results. The mean intimal medial thickness values of the diabetic subjects (0.95 +/- 0.31 mm) were significantly higher than those of the non-diabetic (0.74 +/- 0.14 mm) subjects (p < 0.001). Both in the normal and diabetic s ubjects, these values increased with age. At any given age, the diabetic su bjects had higher values than the non-diabetic subjects but the difference reached statistical significance after age 50 years (p < 0,05), Intimal medial thickness showed a correlation with age, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, waist:hip ratio and systolic blood pressure in non-diabeti c subjects and with age and duration or diabetes in the diabetic subjects. Multivariate linear regression analysis showed that age and diabetes were t he major risk factors for intimal medial thickness. Conclusion/Interpretation. Diabetic subjects have higher intimal medial thi ckness values than non-diabetic subjects. Diabetes and age are the most imp ortant risk factors associated with increased intimal medial thickness in t his South Indian cohort.