Yeongju Ryu1, Youngjin Park1, Byeong Jin Ye2

Departments of 1Family Medicine, 2Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Dong-A University Hospital, Dong-A University College of Medicine, Busan, Korea


Background: The glycemic control in diabetes is well known to arouse a medical risk of macrovascular regions. This study aimed for exploring the relationship between carotid artery intima media thickness (IMT) and the risk triggers of macrovascular diseases in the group of glycated hemoglobin value less than 6.5%.
Methods: The subjects were made of 336 health-check examinees in a university hospital and tested by glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) including ultrasound application on carotid artery IMT to be measured. The relationship between values of HbA1c and carotid artery IMT was reviewed by use of Pearson's correlation, and then influential causes on the carotid artery IMT were analyzed with multiple linear regression models.
Results: Elements like age and fasting plasma glucose were associated with the carotid artery IMT in both men and women. HbA1c, C-reactive protein (CRP) in men and waist to hip ratio (WHR), high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol in women showed statistically significant association with the carotid artery IMT. Age and HbA1c were recognized as variables affecting on the carotid artery IMT in men, in contrast, age was only a significant affecting factor in women with regarding various considerations such as fasting plasma glucose, CRP, HDL, WHR and smoking.
Conclusions: Our clinical investigation revealed that HbA1c was associated with the carotid artery IMT in normal and pre-diabetes with HbA1c less than 6.5%. The outcome might suggest preliminary glucose control be monitored and managed in order to detect and regulate the impairment of macrovascular diseases prior to the occurrence of diabetes.
Korean J Health Promot 2015;15(2):47-53

Keywords: Hemoglobin A1c, Carotid arteries, Carotid intima-media thickness, Diabetes mellitus