Distribution and burden of newly detected coronary artery calcium: Results from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis

Background: The transition from no coronary artery calcium (CAC) to detectable CAC is important, as even mild CAC is associated with increased cardiovascular events. We sought to characterize the anatomic distribution and burden of newly detectable CAC over 10-year follow-up. Methods: We evaluated 3112 participants (mean age, 58 years; 64% female) with baseline CAC ¼ 0 from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. Participants underwent repeat CAC testing at different time intervals (between 2e10 years after baseline) per the MultiEthnic Study of Atherosclerosis protocol. Among participants who developed CAC on a follow-up scan, we used logistic regression and marginal probability modeling to describe the coronary distribution and burden of new CAC by age, sex, and race after adjustment for cardiovascular risk factors and time to detection.