The effect of aging on the association between coronary heart disease risk factors and carotid intima media thickness: An analysis of the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) cohort

In a large cohort followed for nearly one decade, our hypothesis that age attenuates the association of CHD risk factors and carotid IMT was not supported by ARIC data. Rather, we found that associations between carotid IMT and CHD risk factors remained stable with advancing age, contrary to the relationship between risk factors and CHD outcomes with age. These findings suggest that there is efficacy to continued risk factor management in the elderly.