BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Carotid artery intima media thickness (CIMT) is a strong predictor of Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) and independent phenotype of early atherosclerosis. The global variation of CIMT and its demographic association is yet unclear. We evaluated regional variations of CIMT based on WHO regions and assessed the differences by age and sex.

METHODS

A systematic search was conducted on studies published between 1980 January up to December 2020. PubMed, Oxford Medicine Online, EBSCO, Taylor & Francis, Oxford University Press and Embase data bases were used for searching. Supplementary searches were conducted on the Web of Science and Google Scholar. Grey literature was searched in "Open Grey" website. The two major criteria used were "adults" and "carotid intima media". The search strategy for PubMed was created first and then adapted for the Oxford Medicine Online, EBSCO, Taylor & Francis, Oxford University Press and Embase databases. Covidence software (Veritas Health Innovation, Melbourne, Australia; http://www.covidence.org) was used to manage the study selection process. Meta-analyses were done using the random-effects model. An I2 ≥ 50% or p< 0:05 were considered to indicate significant heterogeneity.

RESULTS

Of 2847 potential articles, 46 eligible articles were included in the review contributing data for 49 381 individuals (mean age: 55.6 years, male: 55.8%). The pooled mean CIMT for the non-CHD group was 0.65mm (95%CI: 0.62-0.69). There was a significant difference in the mean CIMT between regions (p = 0.04). Countries in the African (0.72mm), American (0.71mm) and European (0.71mm) regions had a higher pooled mean CIMT compared to those in the South East Asian (0.62mm), West Pacific (0.60mm) and Eastern Mediterranean (0.60mm) regions. Males had a higher pooled mean CIMT of 0.06mm than females in the non CHD group (p = 0.001); there were also regional differences. The CHD group had a significantly higher mean CIMT than the non-CHD group (difference = 0.23mm, p = 0.001) with regional variations. Carotid artery segment-specific-CIMT variations are present in this population. Older persons and those having CHD group had significantly thicker CIMTs.

CONCLUSIONS

CIMT varies according to region, age, sex and whether a person having CHD. There are significant regional differences of mean CIMT between CHD and non-CHD groups. Segment specific CIMT variations exist among regions. There is an association between CHD and CIMT values.