Discover how the groundbreaking Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study sheds light on the early detection of subclinical atherosclerosis, offering new hope for preventing cardiovascular disease in young adults.
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Subclinical atherosclerosis in young adults predicting cardiovascular disease: The Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study.
Raitakari et al., Atherosclerosis 2024
<!– DOI: 10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2024.117515 //–>
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2024.117515
This study investigates the predictive value of pre-clinical vascular changes detected by ultrasound in identifying young adults at risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). A cohort of 2,641 individuals, aged 24-45 and initially free from ASCVD, was followed for an average of 16 years. The research focused on carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT), carotid plaques, carotid artery elasticity, and brachial artery flow-mediated endothelium-dependent vasodilation (FMD). The findings revealed that the incidence of ASCVD was 2.5%, with the lowest risk (1.1%) in those with a low SCORE2 risk algorithm (<2.5% 10-year risk) without plaque or high IMT, and the highest risk (11.0%) in those with a high SCORE2 risk and positive ultrasound findings for carotid plaque or high IMT. Carotid plaque and high IMT were independently associated with an increased risk of ASCVD, while carotid elasticity and brachial FMD did not show a significant difference between cases and non-cases. This suggests that screening for carotid plaque and high IMT in young adults could be a valuable tool in identifying those at high risk for future ASCVD.