Published Online
on February 1, 2007

A more recent version of this article appeared on March 1, 2007

This Article Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 38/3/893    most recent 01.STR.0000257983.62530.75v1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Empana, J.-P. Articles by Ducimetiere, P. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Empana, J.-P. Articles by Ducimetiere, P. Pubmed/NCBI databases Medline Plus Health Information Carotid Artery Disease Metabolic Syndrome Related Collections Primary prevention Risk Factors Glucose intolerance Doppler ultrasound, Transcranial Doppler etc. Epidemiology Lipid and lipoprotein metabolism

Submitted on September 21, 2006
Revised on October 9, 2006
Accepted on October 17, 2006

The Metabolic Syndrome and the Carotid Artery Structure in Noninstitutionalized Elderly Subjects. The Three-City Study

Jean-Philippe Empana MD, PhD^*; Mahmoud Zureik MD, PhD; Jerome Gariepy MD; Dominique Courbon MSc; Jean Francois Dartigues MD, PhD; Karen Ritchie PhD; Christophe Tzourio MD, PhD; Annick Alperovitch MD, MSc; and Pierre Ducimetiere PhD

From INSERM U780 (J.P.E., P.D.), Cardiovascular Team, Paris XI University, Paul Brousse Hospital, Villejuif, France; INSERM U508 (M.Z., D.C.), Institut Pasteur de Lille, Lille II University, Lille, France; Center of Preventive Cardiovascular Medicine (J.G.), Broussais Hospital, Paris, France; INSERM U593 (J.F.D.), Bordeaux 2 University, Bordeaux, France; INSERM E0361 (K.R.), La Colombiere Hospital, Montpellier, France; INSERM U708 (C.T., A.A.), Pierre Marie Curie Paris 5 University, La Salpetriere Hospital, Paris, France.

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: empana{at}vjf.inserm.fr.

Background and Purpose--In contrast to the young adult population, limited data are presently available regarding the epidemiology of the metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its relationship with cardiovascular disease risk in the elderly. We have investigated the frequency of the MetS and its association with the carotid artery structure in an elderly free-living population.

Methods--The study population consists of 5585 French noninstitutionalized elderly men and women aged 65 to 85 years, free of diabetes, who participated in the multicenter Three City Study and who underwent ultrasound examination of the carotid arteries at baseline examination between March 1999 and March 2001. The MetS was defined according to the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III criteria.

Results--The MetS was present in 12.1% of the study participants, with slightly higher rates in men. Subjects with the MetS had higher frequency of carotid plaques (odds ratio, 1.30; 95% CI, 1.09 to 1.55), higher intima-media thickness of the common carotid artery (odds ratio, 1.81; 95% CI, 1.37 to 2.41), and higher lumen diameter (odds ratio, 2.17; 95% CI, 1.61 to 2.94) (upper quintiles) after adjustment for other cardiovascular risk factors. This association was observed in both genders and in subjects without prevalent cardiovascular disease. Elevated blood pressure as defined in the MetS was the main determinant of the relations between the MetS and the carotid parameters, especially the lumen diameter.

Conclusions--The present data suggest that noninstitutionalized elderly subjects with the MetS have altered structure of the carotid arteries.

Key words: atherosclerosis • carotid artery abnormalities • elderly • epidemiology • metabolic syndrome

This article has been cited by other articles:

				S. Holewijn, M. den Heijer, D. W. Swinkels, A. F. H. Stalenhoef, and J. de Graaf The Metabolic Syndrome and Its Traits as Risk Factors for Subclinical Atherosclerosis J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., August 1, 2009; 94(8): 2893 - 2899. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J.-P. Empana, Y. Dauvilliers, J.-F. Dartigues, K. Ritchie, J. Gariepy, X. Jouven, C. Tzourio, P. Amouyel, A. Besset, and P. Ducimetiere Excessive Daytime Sleepiness Is an Independent Risk Indicator for Cardiovascular Mortality in Community-Dwelling Elderly: The Three City Study Stroke, April 1, 2009; 40(4): 1219 - 1224. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. H. Friedlander and J. Weinreb Authors' response J Am Dent Assoc, June 1, 2007; 138(6): 711 - 712. [Full Text] [PDF]