Associations of blood pressure with carotid intima-media thickness in elderly Finns with diabetes mellitus or impaired glucose tolerance

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the associations of ultrasonographic manifestations of carotid atherosclerosis with systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and pulse pressure (PP) in 65-year-old Finns drawn from a population-based cohort. Carotid ultrasonographic measurements were performed on 54 diabetic subjects, 97 subjects with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and 57 normoglycaemic subjects (NGT). The subjects were classified into four quartiles of SBP, DBP and PP. SBP, DBP, PP and the use of antihypertensive drugs increased along with the deterioration of glucose status. The maximal intima-media thickness (IMT) of the common carotid artery (CCA) from the lowest to the highest quartiles of SBP was 0.98±0.34, 1.00±0.35, 1.03±0.29, 1.18± 0.52 mm ( P =0.038), respectively. SBP was higher (161±22 mmHg) in the subjects with severe intima-media thickening (maximal IMT CCA ≥1.2 mm) than in those with maximal IMT CCA of