Hepatitis and related syndromes may be a stronger predictor of early atherosclerosis than such classic risk factors as insulin resistance, according to Italian researchers.
Hepatitis and related syndromes may be a stronger predictor of early atherosclerosis than such classic risk factors as insulin resistance, according to Italian researchers.
Researchers, using carotid ultrasound, found high levels of early atherosclerosis in patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and chronic hepatitis B and C independent of classic risk factors. Highest of all were the patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, regardless of age, sex, smoking history, LDL cholesterol, or insulin resistance.
Giovanni Targher from the internal medicine division at Sacro Cuore Hospital in Negrar, Italy, and colleagues at the University Hospital of Verona studied 215 subjects. They used ultrasound to measure common carotid intima-media thickness, an index of early atherosclerosis on 60 consecutive patients with biopsy-proven nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, 60 with chronic hepatitis C, 35 with hepatitis B, and an additional 60 healthy controls of comparable age and sex. The ultrasound operator was blinded to subjects' characteristics.
The lowest carotid intima-media thickness measurements were in the controls, at an average of 0.84 mm. Measurements in patients with chronic hepatitis B averaged 0.97 mm, and measurements for patients with chronic hepatitis C averaging 1.09 mm. Highest of all were measurements in patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis at an average of 1.23 mm. Adjusting for age, sex, body mass index, smoking, LDL cholesterol, insulin resistance, and components of the Adult Treatment Panel III-defined metabolic syndrome had little effect on any group's measurements.
Ultrasound helped researchers conclude that nonalcoholic steatophepatitis and chronic hepatitis C and B are factors more strongly associated with early atherosclerosis than classic risk factors including insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome components.
The Reading Room: Racial and Ethnic Minorities, Cancer Screenings, and COVID-19
November 3rd 2020In this podcast episode, Dr. Shalom Kalnicki, from Montefiore and Albert Einstein College of Medicine, discusses the disparities minority patients face with cancer screenings and what can be done to increase access during the pandemic.
Study Finds Transvaginal Ultrasound Unreliable for Detecting Endometrial Cancer in Black Patients
July 3rd 2024Utilizing a threshold of less than 5 mm of ultrasound-measured endometrial thickness, the authors of a new study noted an 11.4 percent false-negative probability for endometrial cancer in Black patients.
New Study Shows Non-Radiologists Interpreting 28 Percent of Imaging for Medicare Patients
June 28th 2024While radiologists interpreted approximately 99 percent of all non-cardiac CT, MRI and nuclear medicine studies in hospital and emergency department settings for Medicare beneficiaries, new research shows significantly less radiologist review of cardiac imaging and office-based imaging.
FDA Clears Pocket-Sized ECG System and AI Technology for Detection of Cardiac Conditions
June 27th 2024Using a reduced leadset and deep neural network algorithms trained on more than 175 million electrocardiograms, the KAI 12L technology reportedly detects up to 35 cardiac determinations, including acute myocardial infarction.