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PubMed2001

Progression of diabetic nephropathy: role of plasma homocysteine and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1.

Among patients with diabetic nephropathy, the decline in glomerular filtration rate (GFR) varies substantially, ranging from 2 to 20 mL/min per year. Identification of predictors of progression in diabetic nephropathy is important. Plasma total homocysteine (tHcy) rises with urinary albumin excretion rate in diabetes, and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) has been correlated with increased matrix accumulation in various glomerulopathies. In this prospective observational cohort study, we evaluated the importance of baseline tHcy and PAI-1 as predictors of the rate of decline in GFR. Baseline tHcy and PAI-1 were measured in 157 type 1 diabetic patients with diabetic nephropathy (92 men; mean age, 41 +/- 10 years; mean diabetes duration, 27 +/- 8 years; median GFR, 80 mL/min/1.73 m(2) [range, 23 to 143 mL/min/1.73 m(2)]). Hereafter, GFR was measured yearly with a plasma clearance technique for at least 3 years (median, 7 years [range, 3.0 to 8.3 years]). The mean rate of decline in GFR was 3.7 +/- 0.3 mL/min per year. A linear regression analysis revealed a borderline significant relationship between rate of decline in GFR and tHcy (P = 0.069) and PAI-1 (P = 0.087). Analysis of the rate of decline in GFR and tertiles of tHcy and PAI-1 revealed that increasing levels of tHcy were correlated with a significantly faster decline in GFR (P = 0.025), whereas increasing levels of PAI-1 were not. After adjustment for other well-established risk factors for progression of nephropathy in a multiple linear regression analysis, however, neither tHcy levels nor PAI-1 levels were independent predictors of rate of decline in GFR.

Adult↗

PubMed1998

Body composition in systemic lupus erythematosus.

The objectives were to determine the body composition, and the effects of disease and corticosteroid therapy on body composition, in a population of female patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). All female SLE patients managed through a single centre were invited to participate in a cross-sectional study of body composition. Data were collected by standardized interview and examination, and review of medical records. Body composition was assessed by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Eighty-two subjects were evaluated, 30 of whom were post-menopausal. Univariate linear regression analysis revealed a significant association of reduced fat-free mass with SLE severity [as measured by the Systemic Lupus International Collaborative Clinics (SLICC)] (P = 0.020), a history of corticosteroid exposure (P = 0.043) and age (P = 0.048). Reduced total body bone mineral density (BMD) was also significantly associated with SLICC (P < 0.001) and corticosteroid exposure (P = 0.017), and with age (P < 0.001), post-menopausal status (P = 0.003) and the duration of menopause (P < 0.001). Stepwise multiple linear regression analysis revealed a significant association between fat-free mass and total body, lumbar spine and femoral neck BMD (P = 0.007, P = 0.025, P = 0.003, respectively). Fat mass was significantly associated only with lumbar spine BMD (P = 0.008). In this SLE population, disease severity and corticosteroid exposure were independently associated with a negative effect both on total body BMD and on fat-free mass. Fat-free mass was a significant predictor of lumbar spine, femoral neck and total body BMD.

Absorptiometry, Photon↗

PubMed2004

Donor genomics influence graft events: the effect of donor polymorphisms on acute rejection and chronic allograft nephropathy.

BACKGROUND: Organs procured from deceased donors emanate from individuals with diverse genetic backgrounds. Donor organs, therefore, may vary in their response to injury and immune stimuli in a genetically determined manner. We assessed polymorphisms from 244 renal allograft donors to better understand the impact of donor polymorphisms on selected transplant outcomes. METHODS: Donor genomic DNA restriction fragment length polymorphisms were assayed for evidence of common cytokine [interleukin (IL)-2, IL-6, IL-10, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, TGF-beta, interferon (IFN)-gamma] and chemokine (CCR2, CCR5) polymorphisms. Associations between donor polymorphisms and graft events were determined using chi-square, linear regression, and Kaplan-Meier analyses. RESULTS: Several genotypic polymorphisms demonstrated a modest association with acute rejection, including the transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta T/C codon 10 (P= 0.027) and the CCR5 G/A 59029 (P= 0.039) genes by chi-square analysis. Notably, the presence of the T allele in the IFN-gamma gene (+874) demonstrated a highly significant association with biopsy-proven chronic allograft nephropathy (P < 0.008). This association remained highly significant in a multiple linear regression model that incorporated biopsy-proven acute rejection as a covariate. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that many of the donor polymorphisms studied in this analysis may influence a recipient's immune response to a renal allograft. However, their greatest impact may be demonstrated in long-term outcomes.

Acute Disease↗

PubMed1978

General treatment of competitive binding of small molecules to macromolecules as applied to dynamic dialysis: theoretical analysis.

A mathematical analysis of the dynamic dialysis process is presented, demonstrating how the process can be applied generally to study competitive and noncompetitive binding between small molecules and macromolecules. A law of mass action model for competitive binding with independent sites and classes with equivalent sites (CIE) is considered as a specific case without loss of generality. The escape profiles of two compounds are calculated to illustrate the effect of an increasing degree of binding competition. Noisy data are generated using the CIE model to test the presented method of estimating competitive binding parameters. The parameters estimated by the nonlinear regression technique came close to the true values, considering the degree of noise added to the exact dialysis data. A transformation approach is presented, enabling initial estimates of the binding parameters in the CIE model to be determined by multiple linear regression, thereby eliminating the main problem in the nonlinear estimation. The presented method of analysis is extended to strongly bound compounds, which also bind significantly to the dialysis membrane.

Binding, Competitive↗

PubMed1999

Screening for asymptomatic carotid stenosis in patients with peripheral vascular disease: a prospective study and risk factor analysis.

Screening for asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis using color flow duplex scan was performed on 186 Chinese patients with peripheral vascular disease. They consist of 121 male and 65 females, with a mean age of 70.6 years. A carotid bruit was present in 43 (23.1%) of the patients. Internal carotid artery stenosis of 70% or greater was detected in 46 patients (24.7%) including six total occlusions. Another 79 patients (42.5%) had internal carotid artery stenosis in the 30-69% range. Significant internal carotid artery stenosis was associated with age, male sex, the quantity and duration of smoking and a carotid bruit, and inversely with cholesterol, triglyceride and VLDL. Age, the number of cigarettes consumed per day, and carotid bruit were independent significant predictors of > or =70% internal carotid artery stenosis on logistic regression analysis. The degree of internal carotid artery stenosis is more severe in patients with a carotid bruit, and correlated positively with age (P<0.01), the number of cigarettes smoked (P = 0.04), and the duration of smoking (P = 0.03). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that only the age of the patient bears a significant relationship with the degree of internal carotid artery stenosis (P<0.01). There was no relationship between the degree of lower limb ischemia with carotid stenosis. The prevalence of > or =70% internal carotid artery stenosis in a high risk population with peripheral vascular disease was 24.7%. Routine duplex screening is worthwhile in this group of patients, particularly in male, elderly smokers.

Aged↗

PubMed1993

Nutritional correlates of atrophic glossitis: possible role of vitamin E in papillary atrophy.

Atrophy of the filiform papillae of the tongue is a sign of malnutrition. However, papillary atrophy has not been correlated with laboratory indices of nutritional status. We studied photographs of tongues from 30 elderly subjects and determined the percentage of normal papillary development (%NPD) relative to a reference photograph. We also determined 16 nutritional blood levels and used stepwise multiple linear regression to examine their relationship to %NPD. We found that %NPD correlated significantly (p < 0.0031) with levels of vitamin E and prealbumin, but not with 14 other laboratory indices. Subjects with overt atrophic glossitis (%NPD < 50%) tended to have multiple nutritional deficiencies. The high correlation of plasma vitamin E levels with %NPD may be related to its role as an antioxidant and in the maintenance of cellular membrane integrity.

Aged↗

PubMed2002

Nutritional status and linear growth of Indonesian infants in west java are determined more by prenatal environment than by postnatal factors.

One of the health problems in Indonesia is the high prevalence of stunting in infants. Determinants and specifically the relative contribution of prenatal and postnatal factors to growth and nutritional status of Indonesian infants were investigated. Newborn infants, from women recruited at approximately 18 wk of pregnancy from 9 rural villages in West Java, Indonesia, were followed until 12-15 mo of age. Weight, length, morbidity, breast-feeding and food intake were assessed monthly. Determinants of length and weight increase and nutritional status reflected by Z-scores were evaluated using multiple linear regression. Neonatal weight (3.2 +/- 0.5 kg) and length (49.7 +/- 2.2 cm) were reasonable. However, growth started to falter at 6-7 mo of age, resulting in prevalences of 24% stunting and 32% underweight at 12 mo of age. The multiple regression models explained 19-41% of the variation in growth and nutritional status of infants. Neonatal weight (beta = 0.285) and length (beta = 0.492) were the strongest positive predictors of weight-for-age and height-for-age Z-scores, respectively. Fever was negatively associated with weight increase (beta = -0.144) and weight-for-age (beta = -0.142) and weight-for-height Z-scores (beta = -0.255) but not with length increase or height-for-age Z-scores. Intake of complementary foods was positively associated with increases in weight (beta = 0.190) and length (beta = 0.179) and nutritional status of infants (beta = 0.136-0.194). In conclusion, in this rural population in West Java, neonatal weight and especially length, reflecting the prenatal environment, are the most important predictors of infant nutritional status.

Adult↗

PubMed1997

Subjective well-being one year after stroke.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the subjective well-being of stroke patients with that of a reference group, and to study its relationship to patient characteristics. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Interviews performed in the respondents' homes, tests performed at the outpatient clinic. SUBJECTS: Sixty patients one year after stroke (median age 74 years, interquartile range (IQR) 68-80), and 419 reference individuals (median age 75 years, IQR 71-80). MEASURES: Subjective well-being assessed with the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-20). Explanatory variables were demographic and medical characteristics of the individuals and scores on validated tests: Barthel Index, Frenchay Activities Index (FAI), Sødring Motor Evaluation of Stroke Patients, Assessment of Cerebral Stroke and other Brain Damage, and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). RESULTS: A significantly higher proportion of the stroke patients than of the controls rated their subjective well-being as low, also after adjustment for age and gender (adjusted odds ratio 20.1, 95% confidence interval 9.6-42.0 by logistic regression). In bivariate analyses, leg and arm motor impairment, visuospatial impairment, apraxia, aphasia, low Barthel score, low FAI score, low MMSE score, and institutionalization were highly significant predictors of low subjective well-being (p-values < 0.01). In multiple linear regression, a model with gender (p = 0.3) and upper extremity motor score (p < 0.01) fitted the data well, and explained 48% of the variance in GHQ. CONCLUSION: Subjective well-being is decreased one year after stroke, and this is mainly attributed to arm motor impairments.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed2003

Preoperative and intraoperative factors predictive of length of hospital stay after pulmonary lobectomy.

BACKGROUND: Length of hospital stay is an important determinant of overall surgical costs. Health care resources are finite, so reductions in length of stay are desirable. We reviewed our experience with pulmonary lobectomy to identify preoperative and intraoperative factors that predicted the length of postoperative hospital stay. By identifying these factors, we hoped to favorably influence future patient management. METHODS: Records of patients undergoing pulmonary lobectomy for benign or malignant disease over a four-year period (1998-2001) were reviewed. Data was collected on age, sex, pulmonary function, pulmonary pathology, cigarette smoking, type of thoracotomy incision, use of surgical sealants, surgeon, and length of hospital stay. RESULTS: Three hundred and sixty patients underwent lobectomy. Forward stepwise regression identified age (p=0.022), FEV1 (forced expiratory volume in one second) (p=0.047), diffusion capacity (p=0.020), and surgeon (p<0.001) as independent factors predictive of hospital length of stay. When these four factors were analyzed in a multiple linear regression model, the surgeon variable emerged as the strongest predictor of length of stay (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Although patient factors were influential, the individual surgeon was the most important determinant of hospital length of stay after pulmonary lobectomy. It may be possible to reduce length of hospital stay by identifying variations in practice within the surgical group, and encouraging widespread adoption of "best practice" surgical techniques.

Aged↗

PubMed1996

[Median nerve somatosensory evoked potentials--studies on latency variability as a function of subject height and age].

Somatosensory evoked potentials (SEP) to median nerve stimulation were studied in a group of 61 healthy volunteers (36 men, 25 women) between 15 and 79 years of age. The absolute peak latencies of peripheral N9, Erb, cervical N11 and N13, cortical N20, N32 and N60 were analyzed as a function of height and age. Three interpeak latencies, Erb-N13, Erb-N20 and N13-N20, were equally studied. There was no gender difference in the latencies and interpeak latencies of SEP in multiple correlation analysis involving height and age. Multiple regression analysis showed that except for N60 peak latency, the subject's height and age provided better prediction of other SEP latencies, and Erb-N13 and Erb-N20 interpeak latencies than simple and polynomial [correction of polynominal] linear regression. Multiple regression analysis was found to provide better optimal clinical upper limits for individual SEP latencies and interpeak latencies, and may increase the diagnostic sensitivity. The t-value of the multiple regression coefficient for standardized height and standardized age showed that the effects of age on N32 and N60 peak latencies, and on Erb-N13 and Erb-N20 interpeak latencies were a more important factor than those of height. A negative correlation was found between height and age in our subjects. Although this may be a characteristic of modern Japanese, it suggests the necessity of renewing regression models at intervals of 5 or 10 years.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2000

Peak expiratory flow rate in Saudi school boys at Al-Khobar City, Saudi Arabia.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the normal peak expiratory flow rate for Saudi school boys living at Al-Khobar City. METHODS: A self administered questionnaire was completed by the parents of 1312 school boys who satisfied the selection criteria of the study. Peak expiratory flow rate was measured for them, using Wright peak flow meter. The multiple linear regression equation for peak expiratory flow rate was generated where height, age, weight, socio-economic class, presence of smoker, pets or both at home were the independent variables RESULTS: Height, age and weight were found to correlate significantly with peak expiratory flow rate. However, only height and age were included in the final regression model which had a reasonably high coefficient of multiple determination value (R2 =0.72). CONCLUSION: Peak expiratory flow rate values in this study were lower than those reported from Riyadh, other Arab countries, Europe and North America. However, they are close to those reported from Yanbu (Saudi Arabia). Normal values of peak expiratory flow rate for Saudi children should be developed.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

IGF-I and testosterone levels as predictors of bone mineral density in healthy, community-dwelling men.

OBJECTIVE: Age-related decline in IGF-I and gonadal hormones have been postulated to play an important role in the pathogenesis of age-related bone loss in men. In this cross-sectional study, the relation between serum IGF-I and gonadal hormones with bone mineral density (BMD) was examined in community-dwelling men. DESIGN AND SUBJECTS: Serum IGF-I, testosterone and BMD were examined in 61 community-dwelling men over the age of 27, who were randomly selected from the Calgary cohort of 1000 subjects in the Canadian Multicentre Osteoporosis Study. In the present study, IGF-I, serum testosterone, SHBG, free androgen index (FAI), parathyroid hormone (PTH), 25-hydroxy-vitamin D [25(OH)D] and other markers of bone turnover were measured. BMD was measured at the spine and hip (HOLOGIC 4500). Simple linear regression was used to assess the linear relation between IGF-I, testosterone, BMD and other biochemical markers of bone metabolism and potential confounding variables and subsequent multivariate regression models were constructed separately for each BMD measurement to assess the importance of IGF-I and testosterone in the presence of potential confounding variables. RESULTS: Serum IGF-I, FAI and SHBG significantly decreased as a function of age, whereas serum levels of PTH increased. Only 25(OH)D, total testosterone and FAI were positively associated with serum IGF-I after adjusting for age and BMI. Multiple linear regression models revealed that IGF-I was a significant predictor of BMD at the total hip, femoral neck and femoral trochanter neck (P < or = 0.001). In contrast, the FAI was a significant predictor of BMD at the lumbar spine and wards area (P < or = 0.011), and SHBG was a significant predictor at the total hip and femoral trochanter (P < or = 0.045). CONCLUSION: These data support the hypothesis that the age-related decline in bone mass in men is associated with declining levels of IGF-I and testosterone.

25-Hydroxyvitamin D 2↗

PubMed2001

Decreased maternal serum placenta growth factor in early second trimester and preeclampsia.

OBJECTIVE: To compare early second-trimester maternal serum placenta growth factor concentrations in patients with subsequent development of preeclampsia and those with normal pregnancies. METHODS: We conducted a case-control analysis of stored maternal serum of 27 women who subsequently developed preeclampsia and 227 randomly selected normal controls during the gestational period of 14-19 weeks. Using such a sample size, there was a greater than 95% power to test a difference in the primary study interest. A quantitative sandwich enzyme immunoassay was used to measure the maternal serum placenta growth factor concentration. For statistical analysis, Mann-Whitney U tests, multiple linear regression analysis, multivariable logistic regression model, and receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve were used. P <.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Maternal serum placenta growth factor concentration was associated with the occurrence of subsequent preeclampsia (P <.001) and gestational age (P <.001). The median (interquartile range) of multiples (MoM) of the gestational age stratified median for placenta growth factor in preeclampsia was 0.55 (0.33, 0.85). The ROC curve revealed that the specificity was 70% when the diagnostic sensitivity was 70%, and the optimal cutoff value of placenta growth factor MoM was 0.76. The risk of developing preeclampsia subsequently was increased 2.5-fold for maternal serum placenta growth factor concentration decrements of 0.1 MoM. CONCLUSION: A decreased maternal serum placenta growth factor concentration in the early second trimester is highly associated with the subsequent development of preeclampsia, but a large prospective study is needed to explore its use as an early predictor for the condition.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1999

Weights of parents and infants: is there a relationship?

OBJECTIVE: To assess the relationship between the measures of body weights of parents and those of their children during the first two years of life. SUBJECTS: Seventy-eight infants born to obese ('high risk') or nonobese ('low risk') mothers. METHODS: Weight, weight for length and skinfold thicknesses of the high and low risk infants were measured at 3 months, 12 months and 24 months of age. A multiple linear regression analysis assessed the contributions of nine risk factors, including paternal and maternal body mass index (BMI: kg/m2), to the weight and weight for length of infants at 12 months and 24 months of age. RESULTS: There were no differences between the high and low risk groups in weight, weight for length or skinfold thicknesses at 3 months, 12 months or 24 months of age. Neither paternal nor maternal BMI entered the multiple regression. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that genetic influences on the body weight of infants may be independent of those that influence BMI in adults, a circumstance that could complicate the search for genetic determinants of obesity.

Adult↗

PubMed1997

[Effects of chronic diseases on the use of primary care by the aged].

OBJECTIVE: To analyse how often elderly people attend Primary Care (PC) consulting rooms and how attendance is affected by the number and kind of chronic pathologies those elderly people suffer. SETTING: A medical list from each of three Health Centres in the city of Granada was chosen. PATIENTS: All those over 65 registered on these lists from 1990 to 1994 inclusive, 711 people in total, were included. The number of attendances and chronic illnesses were obtained from the Clinical Records. The outcome variable "Mean Annual Consultations" (MAC) over the study period was analysed by ANOVA and multiple linear regression. RESULTS: MAC was 5.79 (SD 4.20), with a range from 0 to 27 consultations. MACs were significantly higher among the elderly registered at the Doctors' Health Centre (p < 0.001), among women (p < 0.05) and for the presence of any of the pathologies under consideration (p < 0.01) except dementia. A relationship was found between the number of comorbidities and MAC (p < 0.001). In the scaled multiple regression analysis, the number of comorbidities, the first variable introduced into the model, explained 33% of variability in use. CONCLUSIONS: The number of chronic pathologies strongly determines elderly people's attendance at PC consulting rooms, independently of the kind of illness they suffer from.

Aged↗

PubMed2002

Brain metabolite changes in cortical grey and normal-appearing white matter in clinically early relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.

While much work has concentrated on focal white matter (WM) lesions in multiple sclerosis, there is growing evidence to suggest that normal-appearing WM (NAWM) and grey matter (GM) are also involved in the disease process. This study investigated multiple sclerosis disease effects on NAWM and cortical GM (CGM) metabolite concentrations, and the relationships between these metabolite concentrations and clinical impairment. Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging ((1)H-MRSI) data acquired using point resolved spectroscopic (PRESS) localization (echo time 30 ms, repetition time 3000 ms, nominal voxel volume 2.3 ml) from 27 relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis and 29 normal control (NC) subjects were processed using LCModel to estimate metabolite concentrations in millimoles per litre. (1)H-MRSI voxel tissue contents were estimated using SPM99 tissue and semi-automatic lesion segmentations of three-dimensional fast spoiled gradient recall scans acquired during the same scanning session. NAWM and CGM metabolite concentrations estimated were: choline-containing compounds (Cho); creatine and phosphocreatine (Cr); myo-inositol (Ins); N-acetyl-aspartate plus N-acetyl-aspartyl-glutamate (tNAA); and glutamate plus glutamine (Glx). CGM data came from 24 of the multiple sclerosis (mean age 35.2 years, mean disease duration 1.7 years) and 25 of the NC (mean age 34.9 years) subjects. NAWM data came from 25 of the multiple sclerosis (mean age 35.0 years, mean disease duration 1.7 years) and 28 of the NC (mean age 36.7 years) subjects. Metabolite concentrations were compared between multiple sclerosis and NC subjects using multiple (linear) regression models allowing for age, gender, (1)H-MRSI voxel tissue and CSF contents, and brain parenchymal volume. At a significance level of P < 0.05, CGM Cho, CGM and NAWM tNAA, and CGM Glx were all significantly reduced, and NAWM Ins was significantly elevated. Spearman correlations of multiple sclerosis functional composite scores with tissue metabolite concentrations were significant for the following: CGM Cr (r(s) = 0.524, P = 0.009), CGM Glx (r(s) = 0.580, P = 0.003) and NAWM Ins (r(s) = -0.559, P = 0.004). These results indicate that metabolite changes in NAWM and CGM can be detected early in the clinical course of multiple sclerosis, and that some of these changes relate to clinical status. The correlation of clinical impairment with CGM Cr and Glx but not tNAA suggests that it is more closely associated with neuronal metabolic dysfunction rather than loss in clinically early relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. The correlation of clinical impairment with a raised NAWM Ins may indicate that glial proliferation also relates to function at this stage of the disease.

Adult↗

PubMed2001

Validation and calibration of mercury intake through self-referred fish consumption in riverine populations in Pantanal Mato-grossense, Brazil.

The objective of most epidemiological studies is to classify/rank people according to their relative quantity of consumption. In the specific case of quantifying fish consumption, in order to assess mercury intake rate, the method used must estimate the individual quantity consumed accurately, or from the self-referred quantity it must be possible to estimate the real consumption-termed calibration. Therefore, the objective of this study was to validate and calibrate the 24-h recall method for assessing the amount of fish consumed to estimate the mercury intake in riverine populations from Baixada Cuiabana, in Pantanal Mato-grossense, Brazil. The weighed dietary method was used as the reference standard, and the validity of the 24-h recall method was assessed using correlation coefficients (r), regression coefficients (beta), and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). The results showed that the ICC, which assesses the agreement level between measures, was a more adequate measure than the correlation coefficient (r). Therefore, the calibration equation was calculated applying a multiple linear regression model using the consumption mean of the second and third days, which presented the highest ICC, stratified by sex and adjusted by age and season variables.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2001

The intima media thickness and coronary risk factors.

BACKGROUND AIM: to estimate the degree of atherosclerosis in the carotids with different measurements of the intima media thickness (IMT), obtained by ultrasound and to analyze the correlations of these measures to coronary risk factors. METHODS DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS: 130 employed men and women volunteered after public announcement. MEASURES: Health and life-style were charted using a comprehensive questionnaire. Anthropometric measurements, and blood pressure after 10 min of rest were obtained at clinical examination. Blood tests included analyses for fibrinogen, cholesterol, and HDL-cholesterol. The IMT was measured bilaterally three times at the transition of a. carotis to bulbus as well as on a. carotis 0.5 cm proximal thereto. Analyses were conducted with four methodologically different ways of expressing IMT as the dependent variable: IMT(left), IMT(communis), IMT(mean) and IMT(max). RESULTS: Among the measurements of IMT, IMT(max) showed the strongest correlations to coronary risk factors, significantly associated with sex and age. In univariate analyses only the degree of physical activity in the leisure time correlated significantly to IMT(max) among men. When adjusted for age, HDL-cholesterol, BMI, systolic blood pressure and physical activity in leisure time in a multiple linear regression analysis IMT(max) showed significant correlations to physical activity in leisure time and systolic blood pressure among men older than 45 years. Among women IMT(max) was significantly correlated to HDL-cholesterol (inversely), which remained significant in the multiple regression analysis including the same factors as for men. CONCLUSIONS: IMT(max) among four measures of IMT showed the strongest associations to coronary risk factors in otherwise healthy individuals.

Adult↗