Soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 is associated with carotid and femoral atherosclerosis but not with intima-media thickness in a population-based sample

Since inflammatory mechanisms seem to be involved in different stages of atherosclerosis, we analysed a random population-based sample of 972 subjects to assess the relationships between soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1), subclinical peripheral atherosclerosis and intima-media thickness (IMT). B-mode ultrasonography was used to assess the presence of carotid (common and internal) and femoral atherosclerotic plaques and to measure common carotid IMT (avoiding plaque sites). Mean sICAM-1 level was 287.4 (standard deviation: 102.8) and 255.2 (83.5) ng/ml, respectively, in subjects with and without carotid plaques (P<0.0001). It equalled 286.7 (101.1) and 249.7 (79.7) ng/ml, respectively, in subjects with and without femoral plaques (P<0.0001). Subjects beyond the 90th percentile of common carotid IMT had higher sICAM-1 levels than those below, but this was not significant (P=0.08). Multiple logistic regression analyses adjusted for age, gender and other cardiovascular risk factors showed that sICAM-1 was independently associated with the risk of having at least one carotid plaque (adjusted odds ratio for a 10 ng/ml increase in sICAM-1: OR=1.03, 95% confidence interval: [1.02–1.05]) and with the risk of having at least one femoral plaque (adjusted OR=1.04 [1.02–1.06]). On the other hand, no significant relationship was found in multivariate analysis between sICAM-1 and common carotid IMT.