ABSTRACT
This study aimed to examine the correlation between carotid artery intima-media thickness [IMT] and luminal diameter [LD] with body mass index [BMI] and other cardiovascular risk factors. This observational cross-sectional study took place between June 2013 and March 2014 in the Radiology Department of Rizgary Teaching Hospital in Erbil, Iraq. Non-randomly selected subjects >/=20 years old [n = 140] were divided into BMI groups and evaluated for the following cardiovascular risk factors: gender, age, hypertension [HTN], diabetes [DM], smoking, alcohol consumption, blood pressure, serum total cholesterol and triglyceride [TG] levels. IMT and LD of the extracranial carotid arteries were measured by B-mode ultrasonography. The mean IMT was 0.8 +/- 0.3 mm, ranging from a total mean of 0.7 mm in the normal BMI group to 1.0 mm in the extremely obese group. A significant correlation was found between IMT and BMI [P = 0.04], but not between BMI and LD [P = 0.3]. No significant difference in mean IMT or LD was seen between genders. Significant correlations were found between IMT and age, HTN, DM, high serum cholesterol and TG levels [P <0.001]. An increase of one BMI unit caused a 0.009 mm increase in IMT and an increase of one year in age caused a 0.011 mm increase in IMT. Age, obesity, HTN, DM, high serum cholesterol and TG levels were found to have an impact on carotid IMT, which is a strong marker for the early development of atherosclerosis