Aortic & peripheral vascular disease

Importance of Age and Sex in Carotid Artery Plaque Detection and Cardiovascular Disease Risk

JAMA CardiolPublished Prospective cohort study

Main finding · ASCVD eventsResult — go to the resultHazard ratio 1.38 95% CI 1.20–1.58

Authors' conclusion

CAP becomes very common with increasing age among individuals without clinical ASCVD, and the association of CAP with incident ASCVD events was strongest in younger ages, especially among women.

Study context

Population
Adults aged 45 to 84 years free of clinical atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) at recruitment (2000–2002), Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA)of 6814 in MESA
Participants
5,689 adults
Exposure
Carotid artery plaque (CAP) present vs CAP absent
Outcome
ASCVD events:
  • CHD events
  • Stroke
  • ASCVD death
Follow-up
Median 17.6 years
Methodological detailsmultiethnic cohort (MESA)
  • Multiethnic cohort (MESA)

Main finding

ASCVD events

Hazard ratio

1.38

95% CI 1.20–1.58

P < 0.001

CAPvs No CAP
HR 1.38 (95% CI 1.20–1.58); P < 0.001

As reported in the abstract

ASCVD events in total
1043

Observational data: associations, not effects.

Further findings

CAP–ASCVD association by age (≤60 vs >60 years) and sex (subgroup)

Stronger among younger (≤60 years) vs older (>60 years)
P for interaction = 0.01
Women
P for interaction = 0.005
Men
P for interaction = 0.66

CAP prevalence by age, sex, race and ethnicity

Chinese women younger than 50 years
15%
Non-Hispanic White men aged 80 to 84 years
95%

Original publication

Importance of Age and Sex in Carotid Artery Plaque Detection and Cardiovascular Disease Risk. JAMA Cardiol. Published 1 May 2025. doi:10.1001/jamacardio.2024.5702

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