Cardiovascular (CV) disease (CVD) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Most CV events are caused by atherosclerosis. Diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance are associated with greater carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) and increased risk for CVD. The present study examined if common carotid artery IMT (CCAIMT) is predictive of CVD irrespective of glucose tolerance category and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) in a sample of 639 women with different glucose tolerance categories. During 7-year follow-up, 30 events in the cardiac and 32 events in the cerebral territory were documented. Unadjusted Cox hazard models showed that CCAIMT, glucose tolerance category, and HbA1c were associated with increased risk. An adjusted and extended model, including CCAIMT, glucose tolerance category, and HbA1c, showed that CCAIMT was still associated with events with an almost unchanged hazard ratio. In conclusion, this study suggests that CCAIMT is predictive of major CV events during 7-year follow-up, irrespective of glucose tolerance category, HbA1c, and other established risk factors in a cohort of 64-year-old women.
Keywords: HbA1c; cardiovascular disease; glucose tolerance; intima–media thickness.