The Association of Coronary Artery Calcification and Carotid Artery Intima-Media Thickness With Distinct, Traditional Coronary Artery Disease Risk Factors in Asymptomatic Adults

• Published in: American journal of epidemiology 2008-11, Vol.168 (9), p.1016-1023
• Main Authors: Rampersaud, Evadnie, Bielak, Lawrence F., Parsa, Afshin, Shen, Haiqing, Post, Wendy, Ryan, Kathleen A., Donnelly, Patrick, Rumberger, John A., Sheedy, Patrick F., Peyser, Patricia A., Shuldiner, Alan R., Mitchell, Braxton D.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Analysis. Health state; atherosclerosis; Atherosclerosis (general aspects, experimental research); Biological and medical sciences; Blood and lymphatic vessels; Blood Glucose; Blood Pressure; Body Mass Index; calcification; Calcinosis - etiology; Calcinosis - genetics; Calcinosis - pathology; Cardiology. Vascular system; Cardiovascular disease; carotid arteries; Cholesterol - blood; Coronary Artery Disease - etiology; Coronary Artery Disease - genetics; Coronary Artery Disease - pathology; Coronary heart disease; Coronary vessels; Correlation analysis; Epidemiology; Female; General aspects; Genetics; Heart; Humans; Male; Medical research; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Original Contributions; Pedigree; Pennsylvania; physiologic; Public health. Hygiene; Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine; Risk Factors; Tunica Intima - pathology; vascular diseases
• ISSN: 0002-9262; 1476-6256
• DOI: 10.1093/aje/kwn211

Coronary artery calcification (CAC) and common carotid artery intima-media thickness (CIMT) are measures of subclinical vascular disease. This 2000–2006 study aimed to characterize the associations among coronary artery disease risk factors, CAC quantity, and CIMT and to estimate shared genetic and environmental contributions to both CAC and CIMT among 478 asymptomatic Amish adults in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Heritability for CAC quantity and CIMT, adjusted for age and sex, was 0.42 (P = 0.0001) and 0.29 (P = 0.003), respectively. CAC quantity and CIMT were modestly correlated (adjusted r = 0.14, P = 0.003) but showed little evidence of shared genetic or environmental factors. However, significant genetic correlations were found for CAC quantity and total cholesterol (0.44 (standard error, 0.19); P = 0.03), for CAC quantity and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (0.55 (standard error, 0.17); P = 0.005), and for CIMT and waist circumference (0.58 (standard error, 0.25); P = 0.046), suggesting shared genes for these risk factors and measures of subclinical disease. Results suggest that some of the same genes influence variation in CAC and low density lipoprotein cholesterol, whereas a different set of genes influences variation in CIMT and waist circumference.