Progression of Segment-Specific Carotid Artery Intima-Media Thickness in Young Adults (from the Bogalusa Heart Study)

Carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) progression is predictive of future cardiovascular events in middle-age and older adults. However, information is scant on segment-specific CIMT progression by race (black vs white) and gender and its predictors during short-term follow-up in asymptomatic young adults. B-mode ultrasound images of the far walls of both carotid arteries were obtained in 842 subjects aged 24 to 43 years and enrolled in the Bogalusa Heart Study (70% whites and 42% men). The CIMT and cardiometabolic risk variables were measured at baseline and after an average of 2.4 years. The mean CIMT progression rates/year adjusted for age, race, and gender were greatest at the bulb, followed by the internal and common carotid segments (p