Neck circumference is associated with carotid intimal-media thickness but not with coronary artery calcium: Results from The ELSA-Brasil

• Neck circumference is an easy and cheap measurement that can identify individuals at higher risk of atherosclerosis.
• Our findings may be indicating a possible effect of perivascular fat tissue on atherosclerosis.
• This is the first study to compare neck circumference to cc-IMT and CAC in the same participants.

Background and aimsIt is uncertain whether neck circumference can be a risk indicator for subclinical atherosclerosis. We aimed to investigate their relationships measured by coronary artery calcium (CAC) and common carotid intima-media thickness (cc-IMT) with neck circumference in ELSA-Brasil.Methods and resultsIn cross-sectional and sex-specific analyses of 2266 women (50.6 ± 8.4 yrs) and 1886 men (50.7 ± 9.0 yrs) with both cc-IMT and CAC, free from previous cardiovascular disease at baseline, we built logistic models using diverse cut-off points for CAC score (0 vs >0, <100 vs ≥100, <400 vs ≥400 Agatston units) and cc-IMT (<75th percentile vs ≥75th; <90th percentile vs ≥90th) as dependent variables, after which adjustments for age and traditional cardiovascular risk factors were made. Mean neck circumference was 33.6 (±2.4 cm) for women and 38.8 (±2.6 cm) for men. In fully adjusted models including sociodemographic, cardiovascular risk factors and body-mass index and waist circumference, for each 1 standard deviation increase in neck circumference we found an odds ratio (OR, 95% CI) for IMT above the 75th percentile of (1.52, 1.16; 1.99) for women and (1.66, 1.28; 2.14) for men, and above the 90th cc-IMT percentile [1.66 (1.19; 2.32) for men but not for women [1.21 (0.80; 1.82)]. We found no association between neck circumference and CAC using different cut-off points (p > 0.05 for all).ConclusionNeck circumference was significantly and independently associated with cc-IMT but not with CAC in women and men, indicating a possible effect of perivascular fat tissue on atherosclerosis.