Table 1. Demographic characteristics, standard cardiovascular risk factors, and laboratory findings in patients with or without carotid plaque.
| Variables (N = 331) | Without carotid plaque (N = 254) | Carotid plaque (N = 77) | p value |
| Age (years) | 45 ± 8 | 51 ± 9 | < 0.001 |
| Gender (male) | 68% | 82% | 0.027 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 31 ± 4.7 | 30 ± 4.2 | 0.836 |
| Waist circumference (cm) | 100 ± 110 | 104 ± 13 | 0.038 |
| Hypertension % | 61% | 75% | 0.019 |
| Diabetes mellitus % | 7% | 12% | 0.124 |
| Smoking status % | 42% | 60% | 0.026 |
| Hyperlipidemia % | 34% | 45% | 0.053 |
| Family history of CAD % | 41% | 56% | 0.066 |
| Glucose (mg/dL) | 102 ± 28 | 111 ± 46 | 0.032 |
| Creatinine (mg/dL) | 0.83 ± 0.16 | 0.85 ± 0.13 | 0.258 |
| Uric acid (mg/dL) | 5.2 ± 1.4 | 5.9 ± 1.5 | < 0.001 |
| Total cholesterol (mg/dL) | 213 ± 40 | 228 ± 42 | 0.003 |
| LDL-cholesterol (mg/dL) | 134 ± 34 | 146 ± 39 | 0.009 |
| HDL-cholesterol (mg/dL) | 45 ± 12 | 44 ± 13 | 0.370 |
| Triglycerides (mg/dL) | 171 ± 109 | 201 ± 158 | 0.049 |
| CRP (mg/dL) | 0.48 ± 0.52 | 0.54 ± 0.56 | 0.387 |
| Epicardial adipose tissue thickness (mm) | 5.4 ± 2.3 | 7.7 ± 2.6 | < 0.001 |
| CIMT (mean, mm) | 0.78 ± 0.15 | 0.98 ± 0.12 | < 0.001 |
| Framingham risk score | 6.6 ± 6.5 | 12.6 ± 9.3 | < 0.001 |
| Metabolic syndrome score | 2.4 ± 1.6 | 3.0 ± 1.6 | 0.022 |
BMI, body mass index; CAD, coronary artery disease; CIMT, carotid intima-media thickness; CRP, C-reactive protein; HDL, high density lipoprotein; LDL, low density lipoprotein; SD, standard deviation.