Association of Plasma Homocysteine Concentrations with Carotid Atherosclerosis in Elderly Japanese

Objective Homocysteine (Hey) is a sulfhydryl amino acid. Its precursor, the essential amino acid methionine, is derived from dietary protein; recently a number of studies have suggested its relation to atherosclerosis. The present study was performed to clarify the relation between the plasma Hey concentration and sclerotic lesions of the common carotid arteries. Methods and Patients We evaluated sclerotic lesions of common carotid arteries by ultrasonography in 120 elderly in-patients (77±9 years), and studied the relationship of the known risk factors for atherosclerosis including plasma Hey. An ultrasonograph and 7.5 MHz linear type B-mode probe were used by a specialist to evaluate sclerotic lesions of the common carotid arteries. Blood was drawn from the patients while fasting for determination of plasma Hey. Plasma Hey concentrations were determined using a high-performance liquid chromatography assay. Results Logistic regression analysis using IMT as an object variable, adjusted by various risk factors including the plasma Hey concentration, revealed that the relative risk in the group combining the second and the third highest Hey groups was 6.49 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.95-21.9) compared with the first group and the plaque presence showed a relative risk of 4.45 (95% CI: 1.53-12.9). Conclusion The findings of this study confirmed that observations of an association between plasma Hey concentration and common carotid atherosclerosis in Western populations is also present among the elderly Japanese.(Internal Medicine 40: 1189-1194, 2001)