E. Baligh et al. / World Journal of Cardiovascular Diseases 3 (2013) 414-418 417
risk women is also possible. However, the higher preva-
lence of atherosclerotic lesions in males was in accor-
dance with that found in other studies as the Cardiovas-
cular Health Study which showed that among the elderly
(≥65 years), women have less carotid atherosclerosis
than men. The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities
(ARIC) Study [23] revealed that the carotid wall in-
tima-media thickness is greater in men than in women
aged 45 to 64 years. Caplan et al. [24] demonstrated that
female may be more susceptible to intracranial arterial
occlusive disease than extracranial carotid disease [25].
In conclusion, according to the current study, multiple
risk factors are more predictive than a single risk factor
for atherosclerosis in the carotid arteries. Since unfavor-
able risk factor profile is associated with an increase in
the severity of atherosclerosis and age is non modifiable,
our study highlights the importance of controlling modi-
fiable risk factors early in life which may retard athero-
sclerosis development and hence delay the onset of pro-
gression to clinical cerebrovascular insults.
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