Noninvasive assessment of the early progression of atherosclerosis in adolescents with Kawasaki disease and coronary artery lesions

Abstract

Objectives: The severity of carotid arteriosclerosis, defined as increased intima-media thickness (IMT) visible with B-mode ultrasound, is correlated with risk factors for coronary heart disease. Little is known, however, about the relation of IMT, the stiffness of the common carotid artery, and the progression of atherosclerosis in children with Kawasaki disease (KD) and coronary artery lesions (CAL).

Design: We investigated the associations among total cholesterol (TC), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), triglyceride, TC/HDL-C, ApoE genotype, glycohemoglobin, IMT, and arterial stiffness by high resolution ultrasound in 20 adolescents with KD and CAL (age: 16.6 +/- 4.1 years, males: 60%) and 20 sex- and age-matched healthy controls (Cont).

Results: No significant differences were observed in the values of body mass index and blood pressure between the 2 groups. Also no significant differences were observed in the levels of TC, LDL-C, HDL-C, triglyceride, TC/HDL-C within normal values, or the allele frequency of Apo E4 between the 2 groups. However, the values of IMT, stiffness, and glycohemoglobin in patients with KD were significantly higher than those in Cont (0.53 +/- 0.07 vs 0.46 +/- 0.05 mm, P <.05; 4.11 +/- 0.86 vs 2.94 +/- 0.91, P <.001; 5.0 +/- 0.4 vs 4.6 +/- 0.2%, P <.05). A significant relationship was observed between sex and the mean IMT (r = 0.46) in Cont; however, no significant correlation was found between mean IMT and other variables in either group. Although the arterial stiffness was strongly related to body mass index (r = 0.58) and systolic blood pressure (r = 0.55) in Cont, no significant relationship was observed between the stiffness and any variable tested in patients with KD.

Conclusions: The less distensible carotid wall in patients with KD compared with that in Cont without major alteration of the lipid profile is likely to be secondary to the changes in arterial walls after a diffuse vasculitis involving noncoronary arteries. These results indicate that the coronary arteries may be predisposed to accelerated atherosclerosis in patients with KD and CAL.