Carotid IMT in young adult offspring of diabetic and/or hypertensives

Atherosclerosis begins in childhood and progresses through young adulthood to form the lesions that cause coronary heart disease. These preclinical lesions are associated with coronary heart disease risk factors in young persons. Intima-media thickness is a well-known marker of subclinical atherosclerosis and it also can indicate future cardio-cerebrovascular disease and is a noninvasive, feasible, reliable, and inexpensive method for detecting development of subclinical atherosclerosis. This study sought to determine whether family history of diabetes and hypertension are associated with carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) in adolescents. Carotid intima-media thicknesses were measured by B-mode ultrasonography in 203 adolescents (18 to 25 years). The effects of family history of diabetes and hypertension, sex, age, body mass index, cholesterol, and blood pressure were studied. The mean values of cIMT were 0.489 mm in both study group and controls. In adolescents, higher cIMT was associated with diabetic father, over weight (BMI > 23.5 kg/m²) and male sex. Higher cIMT is associated with diabetic father, over weight (BMI > 23.5 kg/m²), and male sex. Using cIMT in young adults with family history of diabetes and hypertension alone may not be useful screening tool for detection of atherosclerosis.