Prevalence of carotid and femoral artery atherosclerosis among the Ivanovo Oblast population: data from the ATEROGEN-Ivanovo study

Aim . To study the prevalence of carotid (CA) and femoral artery (FA) atherosclerosis among Russian population, mainly in middle age group, using a representative sample of one of the Central Russian regions. Material and methods . The analysis included participants of the ATEROGEN-Ivanovo study (sub-study of the ESSE-RF conducted in the Ivanovo region) aged 40-67 years, who were invited for CA and FA ultrasound to assess plaque presence. A total 1102 people were examined, which was >80% of the original sample. Results . The age of subjects was 54 [48; 60] years (men, 28%). Only 11,2% of participants took statins; 30,9% had low cardiovascular risk (CVR), 35,6% — moderate CVR, 21,8% — high CVR, and 11,8% — very high CVR. The incidence of at least one plaque in CA or FA was 73,6%. The prevalence of CA atherosclerosis was 76,4% in men and 59,1% in women, FA atherosclerosis — 54,9% and 28,3%, respectively. Furthermore, plaques were detected already at the age of 40. The incidence of plaques significantly increased with age, with the exception of carotid atherosclerosis in men, a significant increase in the incidence of which stopped at 45 years of age. Conclusion . Among the Ivanovo population aged 40-67 with a predominance of low-to-moderate CVR patients, there is a high prevalence of carotid and femoral atherosclerosis, which indicates a high potential for using ultrasound for diagnosing subclinical atherosclerosis in assessing CVR in people of this age range.