Related Experiment Video For Carotid calcification
Updated: Apr 27, 2026
Calcification of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells and Imaging of Aortic Calcification and Inflammation
Published on: May 31, 2016
Carotid intima-media thickness and calcification in relation to bone mineral density in postmenopausal women-the
Miika Värri1, Tomi-Pekka Tuomainen2, Risto Honkanen3
1Bone and Cartilage Research Unit (BCRU), Surgery, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Eastern Finland, Mediteknia Building, P.O. Box 1627, FI-70211 Kuopio, Finland.
Objectives:
Atherosclerosis (AS) and osteoporosis are common diseases in elderly people and may be metabolically related. The aim of this cross-sectional population-based study was to explore the association between common carotid artery intima-media thickness (cIMT), carotid artery calcification (CAC), and BMD in postmenopausal women. In addition, the association of postmenopausal hormone therapy (HT) and selected diseases with cIMT and carotid calcification was studied.
Study Design:
The 290 women (mean age 73.6 years) included in this Bone Brain Atherosclerosis study (OSTPRE-BBA) were randomly selected from the population-based Kuopio Osteoporosis Risk Factor and Prevention (OSTPRE) study cohort, Finland.
Main Outcome Measures:
For this cross-sectional study, cIMT was measured with B-mode ultrasound; femoral neck and total body BMD were measured with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry.
Results:
There were no statistically significant associations between mean cIMT and femoral neck T-score (p>0.05). However, an increased maximum cIMT was significantly associated with low femoral neck T-score. In the osteoporotic group (T-score <-2.5, n=20), the maximum cIMT was 2.51±0.88mm (mean±SD); in the normal BMD group (T-score >-1, n=122), it was 1.93±0.64mm (p=0.001). The odds of having CAC were approximately four-fold higher in the osteoporotic group compared with the group with a normal femoral neck T-score (odds ratio [OR]=4.2, p=0.038). The maximum cIMT was smaller in HT users (1.98±0.56mm, n=190) than in non-users (2.16±0.74mm, n=156, p=0.036).
Conclusions:
The results of our population-based study suggest that BMD is related to AS, at least in carotid arteries. They indirectly support the hypothesis of partially shared pathophysiological mechanisms between these two disorders.
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