Risk Factors for Carotid Atherosclerosis: The Kuopio Ischaemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study

We assessed the severity of carotid atherosclerosis in 412 men from eastern Finland aged 42, 48, 54 or 60 years at examination with B-mode ultrasonography in 1987 in the Kuopio Ischaemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study (KIHD). Thirty-seven per cent of participants had intimal-medial thickening, 10% had plaques and 2% had stenosis. Age (P>0.001), cigarette-years (P>0.001), serum LDL cholesterol (P = 0.005), low income (P = 0.020) and low alcohol consumption (P = 0.048) had significant partial associations with the severity of carotid atherosclerosis. A linear regression model including these variables and plasma fibrinogen (NS) and serum HDL-cholesterol (NS) accounted for 33% of the variation in atherosclerosis severity. Our data provide further evidence on the role of smoking and LDL-cholesterol in atherosclerosis.