Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Meta-Analysis
. 2010 Jun;41(6):1294-7.
doi: 10.1161/STROKEAHA.110.581058. Epub 2010 Apr 29.

Prevalence of asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis in the general population: an individual participant data meta-analysis

Marjolein de Weerd  1 , Jacoba P Greving, Bo Hedblad, Matthias W Lorenz, Ellisiv B Mathiesen, Daniel H O'Leary, Maria Rosvall, Matthias Sitzer, Erik Buskens, Michiel L Bots
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Prevalence of asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis in the general population: an individual participant data meta-analysis

Marjolein de Weerd et al. Stroke. 2010 Jun.

Abstract

Background and purpose: In the discussion on the cost-effectiveness of screening, precise estimates of severe asymptomatic carotid stenosis are vital. Accordingly, we assessed the prevalence of moderate and severe asymptomatic carotid stenosis by age and sex using pooled cohort data.

Methods: We performed an individual participant data meta-analysis (23 706 participants) of 4 population-based studies (Malmö Diet and Cancer Study, Tromsø, Carotid Atherosclerosis Progression Study, and Cardiovascular Health Study). Outcomes of interest were asymptomatic moderate (> or =50%) and severe carotid stenosis (> or =70%).

Results: Prevalence of moderate asymptomatic carotid stenosis ranged from 0.2% (95% CI, 0.0% to 0.4%) in men aged <50 years to 7.5% (5.2% to 10.5%) in men aged > or =80 years. For women, this prevalence increased from 0% (0% to 0.2%) to 5.0% (3.1% to 7.5%). Prevalence of severe asymptomatic carotid stenosis ranged from 0.1% (0.0% to 0.3%) in men aged <50 years to 3.1% (1.7% to 5.3%) in men aged > or =80. For women, this prevalence increased from 0% (0.0% to 0.2%) to 0.9% (0.3% to 2.4%).

Conclusions: The prevalence of severe asymptomatic carotid stenosis in the general population ranges from 0% to 3.1%, which is useful information in the discussion on the cost-effectiveness of screening.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Age- and sex-specific prevalence estimates of moderate (A) and severe ACAS (B) in men and women
Figure 2
Figure 2
Prevalence of severe stenosis in subgroups
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Norris JW, Zhu CZ, Bornstein NM, Chambers BR. Vascular risks of asymptomatic carotid stenosis. Stroke. 1991;22:1485–1490. - PubMed
    1. Inzitari D, Eliasziw M, Gates P, et al. The causes and risk of stroke in patients with asymptomatic internal-carotid-artery stenosis. North American Symptomatic Carotid Endarterectomy Trial Collaborators. N Engl J Med. 2000;342:1693–1700. - PubMed
    1. Endarterectomy for asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis. Executive Committee for the Asymptomatic Carotid Atherosclerosis Study. JAMA. 1995;273:1421–1428. - PubMed
    1. Halliday A, Mansfield A, Marro J, et al. Prevention of disabling and fatal strokes by successful carotid endarterectomy in patients without recent neurological symptoms: randomised controlled trial. Lancet. 2004;363:1491–1502. - PubMed
    1. Rothwell PM. ACST: which subgroups will benefit most from carotid endarterectomy? Lancet. 2004;364:1122–1123. - PubMed

Publication types