Median level, incident rates, relative risks and 95% confidence intervals of coronary heart disease and stroke in the study participants according to maximal CCA IMT quartile and carotid plaque.

Model 1: adjusted for age groups (35–44, 45–54, 55–64, 65–74, > = 75 years old) and gender.Model 2: Model 1 plus body mass index ( = 25 kg/m2), alcohol intake (nondrinker/regular), exercise (yes/no), marital status (single, married or divorced), education level (Model 3: Model 2, adding baseline hypertension, diabetes, continuous HDL-C and LDL-C variables.Model 4: Model 3, adding metabolic syndrome (yes/no).