• Hyun-Jin Kim, Chae-Wan Lim, Jae Hyuk Lee, Hyung-Bok Park, Yongsung Suh, Yoon-Hyeong Cho, Tae-Young Choi, Eui-Seok Hwang, and Deok-Kyu Cho.
• Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, Myongji Hospital, Gyenggi-Do, South Korea; Department of Translational Medicine, College of Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea.
• Cardiovasc J Afr. 2016 Sep 23; 27 (5): 281-286.

BackgroundCarotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) is a surrogate of subclinical atherosclerosis. Fatty liver disease is also linked to increased risk of cardiovascular events. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between fatty liver disease and CIMT according to gender.MethodsPatients who had undergone carotid and abdominal ultrasound between June 2011 and December 2013 were retrospectively evaluated. The differences between the CIMT values measured in the common carotid artery and the prevalence of carotid plaque in patients with fatty liver disease and those with normal livers were investigated.ResultsOut of a total of 1 121 patients, the men had more fatty liver disease than the women. The mean CIMT of the men was significantly higher than that of the women, and the men had more plaque than the women. The women with fatty liver disease had a significantly higher mean CIMT value and more plaque than the women with normal livers. The differences between the men with fatty liver and those with normal livers in mean CIMT values and in the prevalence of plaque were not significant. In the women, multivariate analysis showed that fatty liver disease was independently associated with subclinical atherosclerosis [adjusted hazards ratio (HR) 1.65, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.007-2.697, p = 0.047].ConclusionsThe men had more fatty liver disease, carotid plaque and higher CIMT values than the women. Fatty liver disease was a useful predictor of atherosclerosis, especially for the female study patients.

27 keywords...

hide…