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Carotid atherosclerosis


The Ultrasound Examination of the Carotid Arteries Study: the Tromsø Study. 

The Ultrasound Examination of the Carotid Arteries Study is a substudy of the population-based Tromsø Study. The study was started in 1994 as a cross-sectional study of 6727 participants. Three screening examinations have been repeated in 2001-2002, 2007-2008 and 2015-2016. 

The main objective is to study the prevalence, incidence, risk factors and progression of early carotid atherosclerosis assessed as intima-media thickness and plaque, and stenosis, and the relationship to stroke, cardiovascular disease and cognitive function.

Chief Investigator: Ellisiv B Mathiesen

Internal members: Agnethe Eltoft, Stein Harald Johnsen, Marit Herder, Caroline Lind

External collaborations: We collaborate with several other international cohort studies in the USE-IMT and PROG-IMT studies.  

 Publications 2012-2022:

  1. Arntzen KA, Schirmer H, Johnsen SH, Wilsgaard T, Mathiesen EB. Carotid atherosclerosis predicts lower cognitive test results: a 7-year follow-up study of 4,371 stroke-free subjects. The Tromsø Study. Cerebrovasc Dis 2012;33:159-165
  2. Mathiesen EB, Johnsen SH. Plaque size, growth, echogenicity and cardiovascular risk: the Tromsø Study. In Nicolaides A, Beach KW, Kyriakou E, Pattichis CS (eds.): Ultrasound and carotid bifurcation atherosclerosis. Springer-Verlag London Limited 2012, pp. 419-429
  3. Andersgaard AB, Acharya G, Mathiesen EB, Johnsen SH, Straume B, Øian P. Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy - recurrence and long term maternal health risk: a population based study. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2012; 206:143.e1-8
  4. Basavaraj MG, Sovershaev MA, Egorina EM, Gruber FX, Bogdanov VY, Fallon JT, Østerud B, Mathiesen EB, Hansen JB. Circulating monocytes mirror the imbalance between TF and TFPI expression in carotid atherosclerotic plaques with lipid-rich and calcified morphology. Thromb Res 2012;129:e134-41
  5. Lorenz MW, Polak JF, Kavousi M, Mathiesen EB, Völzke H, Tuomainen TP, Sander D, Plichart M, Catapano AL, Robertson C, Kiechl S, Desvarieux M, Lind L, Schmid C, DasMahapatra P, Gao L, Ziegelbauer K, Bots ML, Thompson SG, on behalf of the PROG-IMT Study Group. Carotid intima media thickness progression in individuals fails to predict the risk of clinical cardiovascular events in the general population – results from the PROG-IMT collaborative project. Lancet 2012;379:2053-2062
  6. Herder M, Johnsen SH, Arntzen KA, Mathiesen EB. Risk factors for progression of carotid intima-media thickness and total plaque area. A 13-year follow-up study. The Tromsø Study. Stroke 2012;43:1818-1823
  7. Den Ruijter HM, Peters SAE, Anderson TJ, Britton AR, Dekker JM, Eijkemans MJ, Evans GW, de Graaf J, Grobbee DE, Holewijn S, Ikeda A, Kavousi M, Kitagawa K, Kitamura A, Koffijberg H, Lonn EM, Lorenz MW, Mathiesen EB, Nijpels G, Okazaki S, O’Leary DH, Polak JF, Price JF, Robertson C, Rembold CM, Rosvall R, Rundek T, Salonen JT, Sitzer M, Stehouwer CDA, Witteman JC, Moons KG, Bots ML. Common carotid intima-media thickness measurements in cardiovascular risk prediction: A meta-analysis. JAMA 2012;308:796-803
  8. Arntzen KA, Schirmer H, Johnsen SH, Wilsgaard T, Mathiesen EB. Carotid artery plaque progression and cognitive decline. The Tromsø study 1994-2008. Eur J Neurol 2012;1318-24
  9. Herder M, Arntzen KA, Johnsen SH, Mathiesen EB. The metabolic syndrome and progression of carotid atherosclerosis over 13 years. The Tromsø Study. Cardiovasc Diabetol 2012;11:77. doi:10.1186/1475-2840-11-77. Errata published in Cardiovasc Diabetol 2013, 12:144 doi:10.1186/1475-2840-12-144
  10. Johnsen SH, Forsdahl SH, Solberg S, Singh K, Jacobsen BK. Carotid atherosclerosis and relation to growth of infrarenal aortic diameter and follow-up diameter: the Tromsø Study. Eur J Vasc Endovasc Surg 2013;45:135-40
  11. Herder M, Arntzen KA, Johnsen SH, Eggen AE, Mathiesen EB. Long-term use of lipid-lowering drugs slows progression of carotid atherosclerosis: the Tromsø Study 1994-2008. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol 2013;33:858-62
  12. Den Ruijter HM, Peters SAE, Groenewegen K, Anderson TJ, Britton AR, Dekker JM, Engstrom G, Eijkemans MJ, Evans GW, de Graaf J, Grobbee DE, Hedblad B, Hofman A, Holewijn S, Ikeda A, Kavousi M, Kitagawa K, Kitamura A, Koffijberg H, Lonn EM, Lorenz MW, Mathiesen EB, Nijpels G, Okazaki S, O’Leary DH, Polak JF, Price JF, Robertson C, Rembold CM, Rosvall R, Rundek T, Salonen JT, Sitzer M, Stehouwer CDA, Witteman JC, Moons KG, Bots ML. Common carotid intima-media thickness does not add to Framingham risk score in individuas with diabetes mellitus: the USE-IMT initiative. Diabetologia 2013;56:1494-502
  13. Rogne S, Solbu M, Arntzen KA, Herder M, Mathiesen EB, Schirmer H. Albuminuria and carotid atherosclerosis as predictors of cognitive function in a general population. Eur Neurol 2013;70:340-8
  14. Eriksen BE, Løchen ML, Arntzen KA, Bertelsen G, Winther Eilertsen BA, von Hanno T, Herder M, Jenssen TG, Mathisen UD, Melsom T, Njølstad I, Solbu MD, Toft I, Mathiesen EB. Subclinical cardiovascular disease is associated with high glomerular filtration rate in the non-diabetic general population: a cross-sectional analysis from the Renal Iohexol-clearance Survey in Tromsø 6 (RENIS-T6). Kidney Int 2014;86:146-53
  15. Kamycheva E, Johnsen SH, Wilsgaard T, Jorde R, Mathiesen EB. Evaluation of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D as a predictor of carotid intima-media thickness and carotid total plaque area in non-smokers. The Tromsø. Int J Endocrinol 2013; 2013:305141, doi:10.1155/2013/305141
  16. Hald EM, Lijfering WM, Mathiesen EB, Johnsen SH, Løchen ML, Njølstad I, Wilsgaard T, Rosendaal F, Brækkan SK, Hansen JB. Carotid atherosclerosis predicts future myocardial infarction, but not venous thromboembolism. The Tromsø Study. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol 2014;34:226-30
  17. Bots ML, Groenewegen KA, Anderson TJ, Britton AR, Dekker JM, Engström G, Evans GW, de Graaf J, Grobbee DE, Hedblad B, Hofman A, Holewijn S, Ikeda A, Kavousi M, Kitagawa K, Kitamura A, Ikram MA, Lonn EM, Lorenz MW, Mathiesen EB, Nijpels G, Okazaki S, O’Leary DH, Polak JF, Price JF, Robertson C, Rembold CM, Rosvall M, Rundek T, Salonen JT, Sitzer M, Stehouwer CDA, Witteman JC, Peters SAE, Den Ruijter HM. Common carotid intima-media thickness measurements do not improve cardiovascular risk prediction in individuals with elevated blood pressure: the USE-IMT collaboration. Hypertension 2014;63:1173-81
  18. de Weerd M, Greving JP, Hedblad B, Lorenz MW, Mathiesen EB, O’Leary DH, Rosvall M, Sitzer M, de Borst GJ, Buskens E, Bots ML. Prediction of asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis in the general population: identification of high risk groups. Stroke 2014;45:2366-71
  19. Willeit P, Thompson SG, Agewall S, Bergström G, Bickel H, Catapano AL, Chien KL, de Groot E, Empana JP, Etgen T, Franco OH, Iglseder B, Johnsen SH, Kavousi M, Lind L, Lui J, Mathiesen EB, Norata GD, Olsen MH, Papagianni A, Poppert H, Price J, Sacco RL, Yanez D, Zhao D, Schminke U, Bülbül A, Polak J, Sitzer M, Hofman A, Grigore L, Dörr M, Su TC, Ducimetiere P, Xie W, Ronkainen K, Kiechl S, Rundek T, Robertson C, Fagerberg B, Bokemark L, Steinmetz H, Ikram MA, Völzke H, Lin HJ, Plichart M, Toumainen TP, Desvarieux M, McLachlan S, Schmidt C, Kauhanen J, Willeit J, Lorenz M, Sander D: The PROG-IMT Study Group. Inflammatory markers and extent and progression of early atherosclerosis: meta-analysis of individual-participant-data from 20 prospective studies of the PROG-IMT collaboration. Eur J Prev Cardiol 2016;32:194-205
  20. Lappegård J, Ellingsen TS, Vik A, Skjelbakken T, Brox J, Mathiesen EB, Brækkan SK, Hansen JB. Red cell distribution width and carotid atherosclerosis progression. The Tromsø Study. Thromb Haemost 2015;113:649-54
  21. Eikendal ALM, Groenewegen KA, Anderson TJ, Britton AR, Engström G, Evans GW, de Graaf J, Grobbee DE, Hedblad B, Holewijn S, Ikeda A, Kitagawa K, Kitamura A, Lonn EM, Lorenz MW, Mathiesen EB, Nijpels G, Okazaki S, O’Leary DH, Polak JF, Price JF, Robertson C, Rembold CM, Rosvall M, Rundek T, Salonen JT, Sitzer M, Stehouwer CDA, Peters SAE, Bots ML, den Ruijter HM, on behalf of the USEIMT Project Group. Common carotid intima-media thickness relates to cardiovascular events in adults under the age of 45 years. Hypertension 2015;65:707-13
  22. Gijsberts CM, Groenewegen KA, Hoefer IE, Eijkemans R, Asselbergs FW, Anderson TJ, Britton AR, Dekker JM, Engström G, Evans GW, de Graaf J, Grobbee DE, Hedblad B, Holewijn S, Ikeda A, Kitagawa K, Kitamura A, de Kleijn P, Lonn EM, Lorenz MW, Mathiesen EB, Nijpels G, Okazaki S, O’Leary DH, Pasterkamp G, Peters SAE, Polak JF, Price JF, Robertson C, Rembold CM, Rosvall M, Rundek T, Salonen JT, Sitzer M, Stehouwer CDA, Bots ML, den Ruijter HM. Race/ethnic differences in the associations of the Framingham risk factors with carotid IMT and cardiovascular events. PLoS One 2015;10(7):e0132321
  23. Lorenz MW, Price J, Robertson C, Bots ML, Polak JF, Poppert H, Kavousi M, Doerr M, Stensland E, Ducimetiere P, Ronkainen K, Kiechl S, Sitzer M, Rundek T, Lind L, Liu J, Bergström G, Grigore L, Bokemark L, Friera A, Yanez D, Bickel H, Ikram I, Völzke H, Johnsen S, Tuomainen TP, Willeit P, Steinmetz H, Poppert H, Xie W, Schmidt C, Norata G, Suarez C, Sander D, Hofman A, Schminke U, Mathiesen EB, Plichart M, Kauhanen J, Willeit J, Sacco R, McLachlan S, Zhao D, Fagerberg B, Catapano A, Gabriel R, Franco O, Buelbuel A, Schenkenbach F, Gao L, Ziegelbauer K, Thompson SG. Carotid intima media thickness progression and risk of vascular events in people with diabetes mellitus: results from the PROG-IMT collaboration. Diabetes Care 2015;38:1921-9
  24. Liao X, Norata GD, Polak JF, Stehouwer CD, Catapano A, Rundek T, Ezhov M, Sander D, Thompson SG, Lorenz MW, PROG-IMT study group, Balakhonova T, Safarova M, Grigore L, Empana JP, Lin HJ, McLachlan S, Bokemark L, Ronkainen K, Schminke U, Lind L, Willeit P, Yanez DN, Steinmetz H, Poppert H, Desvarieux M, Ikram MA, Johnsen SH, Iglseder B, Friera A, Xie W, Plichart M, Su TC, Srinivasan SR, Schmidt C, Tuomainen TP, Völzke H, Nijpels G, Willeit J, Franco OH, Suarez C, Zhao D, Ducimetiere P, Chien KL, Robertson C, Bergström G, Kauhanen J, Dörr M, Dekker JM, Kiechl S, Sitzer M, Bickel H, Sacco RL, Hofman A, Mathiesen EB, Gabriel R, Liu J, Berenson G, Kavousi M, Price JF. Normative values for carotid intima media thickness and its progression: Are they transferrable outside of their cohort of origin? Published online ahead of print in Eur J Prev Cardiol 2016;23:1165-73
  25. Wang X, Dalmeijer GW, den Ruijter HM, Anderson TJ, Britton AR, Dekker J, Engström G, Evans GW, de Graaf J, Grobbee DE, Hedblad B, Holewijn S, Ikeda A, Kauhanen J, Kitagawa K, Kitamura A, Kurl S, Lonn EM, Lorenz MW, Mathiesen EB, Nijpels G, Okazaki S, Polak JF, Price JF, Robertson C, Rembold CM, Rosvall M, Rundek T, Salonen JT, Sitzer M, Stehouwer CDA, Tuomainen TP, Peters SAE, Bots ML. Clustering of cardiovascular risk factors and carotid intima-media thickness: the USE-IMT study. PLOS ONE 2017;12(3):e0173393
  26. Britton AR, Grobbee DE, den Ruijter HM, Anderson TJ, Desvarieux M, Engström G, Evans GW, Hedblad B, Kauhanen J, Kurl S, Lonn EM, Mathiesen EB, Polak JF, Price JF, Rembold CM, Rosvall M, Rundek T, Salonen JT, Stehouwer C, Tuomainen TP, Bots ML. Alcohol consumption and common carotid intima-media thickness: The USE-IMT Study. Alcohol Alcohol, e-pub ahead of print May 19, 2017:1-4. doi: 10.1093/alcalc/agx028
  27. Lind C, Småbrekke B, Rinde LB, Hindberg K, Mathiesen EB, Johnsen SH, Arntzen KA, Njølstad I, Lijfering W, Braekkan SK, Hansen JB. Impact of venous thromboembolism on the formation and progression of carotid atherosclerosis: the Tromsø Study. TH Open 2017;1:e66-e72
  28. Eltoft A, Arntzen KA, Hansen JB, Wilsgaard T, Mathiesen EB, Johnsen SH. C-reactive protein in atherosclerosis - A risk marker but not a causal factor? A 13-year population-based longitudinal study. The Tromsø Study. Atherosclerosis 2017;263:293-300
  29. Småbrekke B, Rinde LB, Hald EM, Njølstad I, Mathiesen EB, Johnsen SH, Hansen JB, Brækkan SK, Lijfering WM. Repeated measurements of carotid atherosclerosis and future risk of venous thromboembolism. The Tromsø Study. J Thromb Haemost 2017;15:2344-2351
  30. Øhrn AM, Schirmer H, von Hanno T, Mathiesen EB, Arntzen KA, Bertelsen G, Njølstad I, Løchen ML, Wilsgaard T, Bairey Merz CN, Lindekleiv H. Small and large vessel disease in persons with unrecognized compared to recognized myocardial infarction: the Tromsø Study 2007-2008. Int J Cardiology 2018;253:14-19
  31. Eltoft A, Arntzen KA, Wilsgaard T, Mathiesen EB, Johnsen SH. Interleukin-6 is an independent predictor of progressive atherosclerosis in the carotid artery. Atherosclerosis 2018;271:1-8
  32. Lorenz MW, Gao L, Ziegelbauer K, Norata GD, Empana JP, Schmidtmann I, Lin HJ, McLachlan S, Bokemark L, Ronkainen K, Amato M, Schminke U, Srinivasan SR, Lind L, Okazaki S, Stehouwer CDA, Willeit P, Polak JF, Steinmetz H, Sander D, Poppert H, Desvarieux M, Ikram MA, Johnsen SH, Staub D, Sirtori CR, Iglseder B, Beloqui O, Engström G, Friera A, Rozza F, Xie W, Parraga G, Grigore L, Plichart M, Blankenberg S, Su TC, Schmidt C, Tuomainen TP, Veglia F, Völzke H, Nijpels G, Willeit J, Sacco RL, Franco OH, Uthoff H, Hedblad B, Suarez C, Izzo R, Zhao D, Wannarong T, Catapano A, Ducimetiere P, Espinola-Klein C, Chien KL, Price JF, Bergström G, Kauhanen J, Tremoli E, Dörr M, Berenson G, Kitagawa K, Dekker JM, Kiechl S, Sitzer M, Bickel H, Rundek T, Hofman A, Mathiesen EB, Castelnuovo S, Landecho MF, Rosvall M, Gabriel R, de Luca N, Liu J, Baldassarre D, Kavousi M, de Groot E, Bots ML, Yanez DN, Thompson SG; PROG-IMT study group. Predictive value for cardiovascular events of common carotid intima media thickness and its rate of change in individuals at high cardiovascular risk - results from the PROG-IMT collaboration. PLOS ONE 2018;13(4):e0191172
  33. Imahori Y, Mathiesen EB, Leon DA, Hopstock LA, Hughes AD, Johnsen SH, Jørgensen L, Emaus N, Morgan KE. The contribution of obesity to carotid atherosclerotic plaque burden in a general population sample in Norway: The Tromsø study. Atherosclerosis 2018;273:15-20
  34. Lappegård J, Ellingsen TS, Hindberg K, Mathiesen EB, Njølstad I, Wilsgaard T, Løchen ML, Brækkan SK, Hansen JB. Impact of chronic inflammation, assessed by hs-CRP, on the association between red cell distribution width and arterial cardiovascular disease. TH Open 2018;2:e182-e189
  35. Eltoft A, Arntzen KA, Hansen JB, Wilsgaard T, Mathiesen EB, Johnsen SH. Joint effect of carotid plaque and CRP on first-ever ischemic stroke and myocardial infarction? J Am Heart Assoc 2018;7:e008951
  36. Johnsen SH, Jacobsen BK, Brækkan SK, Hansen JB, Mathiesen EB. Fish consumption, fish oil supplements and risk of atherosclerosis in the Tromsø Study. Nutr J 2018;17:56
  37. Thorsson B, Eiriksdottir G, Sigurdsson S, Guðmundsson EF, Bots ML, Aspelund T, Arntzen KA, Mathiesen EB, Gudnason V. Population distribution of traditional and the emerging cardiovascular risk factors carotid plaque and IMT: The REFINE-Reykjavik study with comparison to the Tromsø Study. BMJ Open 2018;8(5):e019385
  38. Imahori Y, Mathiesen EB, Morgan KE, Frost C, Hughes AD, Hopstock LA, Johnsen SH, Emaus N, Leon DA. The association between anthropometric measures of adiposity and the progression of carotid atherosclerosis. BMC Cardiovasc Disord 2020;20:138. doi: 10.1186/s12872-020-01417-0
  39. Imahori Y, Frost C, Mathiesen EB, Ryabikov A, Kudryavtsev A, Malyutina S, Kornev M, Hughes AD, Hopstock LA, Leon DA. Effect of adiposity on differences in carotid plaque burden in studies conducted in Norway and Russia: a cross-sectional analysis of two populations at very different risk of cardiovascular mortality. BMJ Open 2020;10:e036583. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-036583.
  40. Paraskevas KI, Sillesen HH, Rundek T, Mathiesen EB, Spence JD. Carotid intima-media thickness versus carotid plaque burden for predicting cardiovascular risk. Angiology 2020;71:108-11 [editorial]
  41. Azarpazhooh MR, Mathiesen E, Rundek T, Romanens M, Adams A, Armando L, Perez H, Villafañe H, Garcia NH, Ibañez B, Bogiatzi C, Tabrizi R, Fuster V, Spence JD. Reliability, reproducibility and advantages of measuring carotid total plaque area. J Am Soc Echocardiogr. 2022;S0894-7317(22)00021-9 [letter]
  42. Andreassen RM, Kronborg JB, Schirmer H, Mathiesen EB, Melsom T, Eriksen BO, Jenssen TG, Solbu MD. Urinary orosomucoid is associated with diastolic dysfunction and carotid arteriopathy in the general population. Cross-sectional data from the Tromsø Study. Scand Cardiovasc J 2022;56:148-15
  43. Nonterah EA, Crowther NJ, Klipstein-Grobusch K, Oduro AR, Kavousi M, Agongo G, Anderson T, Asiki G, Boua P, Choma S, Couper D, Engström G, de Graaf J, Kauhanen J, Lonn E, Mathiesen EB, Micklesfield L, Okazaki S, Polak J, Rundek T, Salonen J, Tollman S, Tuomainen TP, Grobbee DE, Ramsay M, Bots ML. Race-ethnic differences in the association between classical cardiovascular risk factors and common carotid intima-media thickness: an individual participant data meta-analysis. J Am Heart Assoc 2022;11(15):e023704

 



Members:

Ellisiv Bøgeberg Mathiesen (Principal investigator)
Marit Herder
Stein Harald Johnsen
Agnethe Eltoft