Subclinical carotid atherosclerosis predicts all-cause mortality and cardiovascular events in obese patients with negative exercise echocardiography

Table 1 Baseline characteristics

	n = 226	No plaque, n = 150	Plaque, n = 76	P value
Age	63.2 (11.4)	60.6 (12.1)	68.2 (7.3)	< 0.001a
Male sex	106 (46.9%)	64 (42.7%)	42 (55.3%)	0.099
Hypertension	166 (73.5%)	100 (66.7%)	66 (86.8%)	0.002a
Diabetes mellitus	45 (19.9%)	24 (16.0%)	21 (27.6%)	0.058
Dyslipidaemia	124 (54.9%)	74 (49.3%)	50 (65.8%)	0.027a
Current smoker	55 (24.3%)	36 (24.0%)	19 (25.0%)	0.999
Family history of premature CAD	17 (7.5%)	13 (8.7%)	4 (5.3%)	0.516
BMI, kg/m2	33.3 (4.1)	33.2 (4.5)	33.4 (3.0)	0.694
Obesity				0.033a
Grade 1	179 (79.2%)	126 (84.0%)	53 (69.7%)
Grade 2	39 (17.3%)	19 (12.7%)	20 (26.3%)
Grade 3	8 (3.5%)	5 (3.3%)	3 (3.9%)
No cardiovascular risk factors	29 (12.8%)	28 (18.7%)	1 (1.3%)	< 0.001a
SCORE				< 0.001a
Low-risk, < 1%	29 (12.8%)	28 (18.7%)	1 (1.3%)
Moderate-risk, 1%-5%	113 (50.0%)	78 (52.0%)	35 (46.1%)
High risk, 5%-10%	33 (14.6%)	20 (13.3%)	13 (17.1%)
Very high-risk, ≥ 10%	49 (21.7%)	24 (16.0%)	25 (32.9%)
Not classifiable	2 (0.9%)	0	2 (2.6%)
CAD PTP				0.017a
< 15%	10 (4.4%)	10 (6.7%)	0
15-65%	180 (79.6%)	121 (80.7%)	59 (77.6%)
65-85%	36 (15.9%)	19 (12.7%)	17 (22.4%)
> 85%	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)
Fasting plasma glucose, mg/dL	113.8 (32.2)	112.5 (33.4)	116.6 (29.5)	0.369
Glomerular filtration rate, mL/min/1.73 m2	87.6 (25.4)	91.4 (27.1)	79.7 (20.3)	< 0.001a
Total cholesterol, mg/dL	199.6 (40.5)	196.9 (38.5)	205.0 (43.9)	0.159
HDL cholesterol, mg/dL	48.6 (12.3)	49.6 (13.4)	46.5 (9.1)	0.043a
Triglycerides, mg/dL	143.6 (75.9)	133.0 (60.0)	164.8 (97.6)	0.011a
LDL cholesterol, mg/dL	122.1 (34.6)	120.2 (34.1)	125.9 (35.8)	0.257
Atrial fibrillation	26 (11.5%)	14 (9.3%)	12 (15.8%)	0.224
Treatment after EE
Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor	29 (12.8%)	16 (10.7%)	13 (17.1%)	0.247
Angiotensin II receptor blockers	99 (43.8%)	54 (36.0%)	45 (59.2%)	0.001a
Beta-blockers	72 (31.9%)	44 (29.3%)	28 (36.8%)	0.32
Calcium channel blockers	53 (23.5%)	27 (18.0%)	26 (34.2%)	0.011a
Nitrates	21 (9.3%)	13 (8.7%)	8 (10.5%)	0.832
Statins	111 (49.1%)	66 (44.0%)	45 (59.2%)	0.043a
Ezetimibe	6 (2.7%)	3 (2.0%)	3 (3.9%)	0.673
Fibrates	10 (4.4%)	5 (3.3%)	5 (6.6%)	0.476
Omega−3 fatty acids	4 (1.8%)	3 (2.0%)	1 (1.3%)	1
Antiplatelet drugs	109 (48.2%)	67 (44.7%)	42 (55.3%)	0.172
Anticoagulants drugs	17 (7.5%)	8 (5.3%)	9 (11.8%)	0.137
Oral antidiabetic drugs	28 (12.4%)	13 (8.7%)	15 (19.7%)	0.030a
Insulin treatment	5 (2.2%)	2 (1.3%)	3 (3.9%)	0.338

^aP < 0.05. BMI: Body mass index; CAD: Coronary artery disease; EE: Exercise echocardiography; HDL cholesterol: High density lipoprotein cholesterol; LDL cholesterol: Low density lipoprotein cholesterol; PTP: Pre-test probability; SCORE: Systematic COronary Risk Evaluation.