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. 2021 Feb 15:12:597992.
doi: 10.3389/fneur.2021.597992. eCollection 2021.

High Burden of Carotid Atherosclerosis in Rural Northeast China: A Population-Based Study

Liying Xing  1   2 , Ru Li  3 , Suli Zhang  4 , Dan Li  4 , Baojing Dong  4 , Hong Zhou  4 , Li Jing  4 , Yuanmeng Tian  2 , Shuang Liu  3
Affiliations

High Burden of Carotid Atherosclerosis in Rural Northeast China: A Population-Based Study

Liying Xing et al. Front Neurol. .

Abstract

Objective: Carotid atherosclerosis is a known marker of increased cardiovascular risk. We aimed to assess the current epidemiology of carotid atherosclerosis, carotid plaque and related risk factors in rural northeast China. Methods: The population-based, cross-sectional study was conducted in 5,838 adults aged ≥40 years residing in rural northeast China in 2017-2018. A multi-stage cluster sampling method was used to select the representative sample. Carotid atherosclerosis was defined as carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) ≥1.0 mm or presence of plaque. Results: The mean CIMT was 0.72 ± 0.13 mm and increased with age in this population. Among 2,457 individuals with carotid atherosclerosis, 2,333 were diagnosed with carotid plaque, and 210 individuals were moderate or severe carotid stenosis. Crude prevalence of carotid atherosclerosis and plaque were 42.1 and 40.0%, significantly higher in men than in women (p < 0.001). The age-standardized prevalence of carotid atherosclerosis and carotid plaque were 33.1 and 31.5%, respectively. Advancing age, men, hypertension, diabetes, current smoking, ever-smoking and lack of exercise were risk factors for carotid atherosclerosis. Hypertension (69.1%), dyslipidemia (26.0%) and diabetes (16.1%) were highly prevalent in participants with carotid atherosclerosis. However, the control rates of those comorbidities were frustratingly low (4.7, 8.2, and 14.2%, respectively). Conclusions: The high prevalence of carotid atherosclerosis, carotid plaque, carotid stenosis and uncontrolled risk factors indicated the high burden of cardiovascular disease in rural northeast China, particularly in men. Strategies of prevention and management of atherosclerosis and related risk factors were urgently needed in rural northeast China.

Keywords: China; atherosclerosis; carotid arteries; epidemiology; risk factors.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow chart of population selection.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The distribution of carotid stenosis in the population with carotid plaque in rural northeast China.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension (A), diabetics (B), and dyslipidemia (C) among participants with carotid atherosclerosis in rural Northeast China. **p < 0.001 indicates women vs. men; *p < 0.05 indicates women vs. men.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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