Carotid artery atherosclerosis in a Mexico City population with high carbohydrate intake

We present the results of a population based survey designed to estimate the prevalence and clinical characteristics of carotid artery atherosclerosis (CAS) diagnosed using vascular ultrasonography (VUS) in a low income area of Mexico City encompassing six neighborhoods that we previously studied. We attempted to locate all the non-diabetic participants of the first two neighborhoods (n = 834) and all diabetics from the six neighborhoods (n = 304). We located 1078 (94.7%) participants and examined 770 (71.4%). All study subjects were men and non-pregnant women between 35-64 years of age and had standardized VUS protocol. In men, the prevalence of CAS was 16.29%, in women the prevalence was 12.3%. CAS was significantly associated in both sexes to age (p < 0.001) and systolic blood pressure (p < 0.001). The ratio of the subscapular to triceps skinfolds was significantly higher in men with CAS (p < 0.04). In women, fasting glucose was higher in subjects with CAS (p < 0.04). The lipid profile was similar in men with and without CAS. However, women with CAS had significantly higher total cholesterol (p < 0.001), LDL cholesterol (p < 0.002), VLDL cholesterol (p < 0.092) and mean TG (p < 0.033). The percent of patients with hypertension, tobacco use, myocardial infarction and diabetic retinopathy of any degree was significantly higher in the subjects with CAS. CAS of any degree was observed in 12.4% of the non-diabetic population and 18.13% of the diabetics.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)