Abdominal aortic calcification linked to CAD, CI in T2DM

In patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), abdominal aortic calcification (AAC) might be an important indicator of coronary artery disease (CAD) and cerebral infarction (CI), a new study has found.

Researchers conducted a retrospective cross-sectional analysis of 246 T2DM patients (mean age 64.1 years, 155 men), in whom the AAC score and length were determined using lateral abdominal radiographs. Both CAD and CI had a baseline prevalence of 13.3 percent.

Multivariate logistic regression analysis, adjusted for confounders such as age and smoking history, found that participants in the top tertile of AAC score were more than five times more likely to have CAD (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 5.14, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.44–18.36; p=0.012) and over thrice as likely to have CI (adjusted OR, 3.40, 95 percent CI, 1.08–10.65; p=0.036).

No such effect was reported for AAC length; that is, participants in the top tertile of AAC length were not at any increased risk of CAD or CI.

In addition, AAC score and length were inversely associated with body mass index and Fibrosis-4 index score >2.67, but not with ultrasonography-confirmed fatty liver. These interactions remained true even after cardiovascular risk factors.

“Our data raised the possibility that AAC and liver fibrosis are associated. Further research involving liver biopsy or noninvasive diagnostic imaging of liver fibrosis is required to confirm this,” the researchers said.