The Incidence of Atherosclerotic Lesions of the Carotid Artery in People of One Community

: Carotid sonography were conducted in people of one community (122 males and 243 females) in 1990 and 1991. The intima-media thickness (IMT) in the main trunk and bifurcation-bulb areas of bilateral carotid arteries were measured in 122 males. IMTs of four areas increased with aging. In all cases, the average IMT of the right main trunk was 0.8 +/- 0.1 mm (mean +/- SD) and those of the remaining three areas were 0.9 +/- 0.2 mm. The IMT of the right bifurcation area in males aged 75 years or older was the thickest; i.e., 1.1 +/- 0.3 mm. Therefore, atherosclerotic lesions (AL) were defined as an IMT of 1.5 mm or more. The incidence of AL increased along with aging both in males and females. In those who were less than 65 years old, the incidence in males was 12.8% (10/78) and that in females was 9.0% (12/134). In those who were 65 years old or older, the incidence in males was 31.8% (14/44) and that in females was 26.9% (29/109). The incidence of AL tended to increase rapidly from 65 years of age in both males and females. Moreover, the incidence of AL in bilateral carotid arteries increased along with aging as well. Since IMT, the incidence of AL and that of AL in bilateral carotid arteries increased with aging, we considered that these parameters could be used as indices of the degree of general atherosclerosis.