Relationship between cardiovascular risk factors and the echogenicity and pattern of the carotid intima-media complex in men

CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE: The thickness of the carotid intima-media complex (C-IMC) is considered to be a marker of early atherosclerosis, but visual and echogenic changes to the C-IMC can also be noted. The objective here was to evaluate the relationship between cardiovascular risk factors and the echogenicity of the C-IMC and identify those most associated with an "abnormal" C-IMC. DESIGN AND SETTING: Cross-sectional study in the ultrasound sector of the Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Universidade Federal de São Paulo. METHODS: Eighty men were evaluated. Measurements of arterial blood pressure, waist circumference (WC), lipid profile, fasting glucose, uric acid and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein were obtained. The thickness of the C-IMC was measured by means of B-mode ultrasound, and the intima-media gray-scale mean (IM-GSM) and standard deviation (IM-SD) were calculated. RESULTS: The following were discriminating variables: fasting glucose (r2 = 0.036; P = 0.013), uric acid (r2 = 0.08; P = 0.03), IM-SD (r2 = 0.43; P