Korean J Fam Pract. 2018; 8(4): 524-529  https://doi.org/10.21215/kjfp.2018.8.4.524
The Relationship between Serum Homocysteine and Carotid Artery Plaque in Asymptomatic 50s Korean Men
Hankyu Choi1, Soshin Kye1,*, Juhyun Lee1, Myoung-Jin Cha2, Kichul Kim1, Yeonhee Kim1, Sejin Oh1
Departments of 1Family Medicine and 2Neurology, National Police Hospital, Seoul, Korea
Soshin Kye Tel: +82-2-3400-1395, Fax: +82-2-3400-1366 E-mail: soskye@police.go.kr ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0687-6866
Received: June 27, 2017; Revised: September 11, 2017; Accepted: September 15, 2017; Published online: August 20, 2018.
© The Korean Academy of Family Medicine. All rights reserved.

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0) which permits unrestricted noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
Background: Although serum homocysteine (Hcy) levels and carotid artery plaque are strongly associated with atherosclerosis, little is known about the relationship between Hcy levels and carotid artery plaque in asymptomatic Korean men. In this study, we examined the association between Hcy concentrations and the presence of carotid artery plaque in asymptomatic Korean men aged between 50 and 59 years.
Methods: From January 2014 to May 2016, a total of 2,296 men aged between 50 and 59 years were examined. Information related to medical history, physical examination, laboratory examination, and carotid ultrasound were obtained. Patient characteristics, stratified according to quartiles of Hcy concentrations, were compared by one-way analysis of variance or chi-square tests. Chi-square tests or the t-test were used to determine factors associated with carotid artery plaque. In addition, multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to identify any independent relationship between Hcy concentrations and carotid artery plaque.
Results: Age, abdominal obesity, history of hypertension and diabetes mellitus, current smoker, HDL, fasting plasma glucose, hs-CRP, and Hcy concentrations were found to be significantly associated with the presence of carotid artery plaque. The odds ratio (OR) (95% confidence interval [CI]) of the carotid artery plaque was higher in the 4th quartile (10.42 μmol/L≤Hcy concentrations) of serum Hcy after adjustment for related factors, OR 1.33 (95% CI, 1.04–1.72) (P=0.026).
Conclusion: This study supports the clinical significance of the detection of carotid artery plaque by carotid ultrasound in the evaluation of atherosclerosis by confirming the independent positive correlation between Hcy concentrations and carotid artery plaque in asymptomatic Korean men aged between 50 and 59 years.
Keywords: Homocysteine; Carotid Artery Plaque; Atherosclerosis
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