Ultrasound determined carotid and femoral atherosclerosis in Lithuanian and Swedish men: the LiVicordia study

Coronary heart disease mortality is four times higher in Lithuanian compared to Swedish middle-aged men. Using the same equipment (Acuson XP10 with 5 MHz linear transducer) and staff, we compared the amount of atherosclerosis in carotid and femoral arteries in 100 randomly sampled 50-year-old men in each of the cities Vilnius, Lithuania and Linköping, Sweden. Atherosclerotic plaques were more abundant in Vilnius men compared to Linköping men (53 versus 28% in the common carotid artery, 73 versus 37% in the common femoral artery, P<0.001 for both). Plaques were thicker and more extended in arteries of Vilnius men, and an ultrasound atherosclerosis score was higher in both carotid and femoral arteries (P<0.001 for all). More Vilnius men had a maximal intima-media thickness of the common femoral artery above 1 mm (P<0.005). Stiffness in the common carotid artery was higher in Vilnius men (P<0.001). In a linear regression model of the pooled material, after adjustment for city was made, smoking, systolic blood pressure, low density lipoprotein cholesterol and β-carotene (inversely) significantly contributed to a high total ultrasound score (r2=0.32). These findings show that the higher coronary mortality noted in Lithuanian men goes together with a higher prevalence of early peripheral atherosclerosis.