Table 2.
Demographics of with and without carotid artery plaque.
| Carotid artery plaque status | |||
| Variable | Plaque (–) (n = 152) | Plaque (+) (n = 83) | P-value |
| Age, mean (SD), year | 51.85 (7.78) | 54.67 (7.04) | .006 |
| Sex (male %) | 106 (70%) | 68 (82%) | .042 |
| BMI, mean (SD), kg/m2 | 23.59 (2.83) | 24.91 (3.34) | .002 |
| HbA1c, mean (SD), %) | 5.57 (0.65) | 5.66 (0.64) | .339 |
| Systolic blood pressure, mean (SD), mm Hg | 118.17 (14.24) | 124.39 (15.12) | .002 |
| Diastolic blood pressure, mean (SD), mm Hg | 75.54 (9.65) | 79.47 (12.08) | .007 |
| Glucose AC, mean (SD), mg/dL | 99.29 (18.54) | 100.25 (13.03) | .675 |
| Total cholesterol, mean (SD), mg/dL | 201.36 (33.19) | 210.17 (41.58) | .078 |
| Triglyceride, mean (SD), mg/dL | 130.51 (82.32) | 140.59 (78.35) | .363 |
| LDL, mean (SD), mg/dL | 125.29 (29.14) | 133.90 (37.07) | .050 |
| Plasma hs-CRP, mean (SD), mg/L | 0.17 (0.32) | 0.18 (0.28) | .841 |
| Smoking, no. (%) | 42 (28%) | 15 (18%) | .102 |
| Anti-platelet agent used, no. (%) | 7 (5%) | 7 (8%) | .236 |
| Anti-lipid agent used, no. (%) | 12 (8%) | 14 (17%) | .036 |
| DM control agent used, no. (%) | 7 (5%) | 6 (7%) | .400 |
| Hypertension control agent used, no. (%) | 16 (11%) | 23 (28%) | .001 |
| Hb A1c level ≥6.5%, no. (%) | 7 (5%) | 5 (6%) | .637 |
| TMAO, mean (SD), μM | 2.48 (5.45) | 2.70 (4.30) | .817 |
| Endotoxin, mean (SD), EU/mL | 0.90 (1.74) | 0.69 (0.97) | .367 |
AC = ante cibum; BMI = body mass index; CRP = C-reactive protein; DM = diabetes mellitus; HbA1c = hemoglobin A1C; LDL = low-density lipoprotein; NAFLD = non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; no. = number; SD = standard deviation; TMAO = trimethylamine-N-oxide.