Methods: 302 subjects (of 1056 who will be available upon IMT reading completion), of mean age (± SD) 70(± 9) yrs were studied in the Oral Infections and Vascular Disease Epidemiology Study (INVEST); 60% Women; 49% Hispanic, 25% Black, 23% White, 3% Other. Interleukin-1b (IL-1b) was measured by ELISA in gingival crevicular fluid samples obtained from the mesiobuccal aspect of the most posterior tooth in each quadrant. Subjects were scanned using high-resolution B-mode ultrasound to measure carotid artery IMT and assess the presence or absence of carotid artery plaque (CAP) in all carotid segments bilaterally. Mean IMT values were assessed across quartiles of IL-1b. All models are adjusted for: age, gender, race/ethnicity, diabetes, smoking, and systolic blood pressure.
Results: The prevalence of CAP was 62% (n=191) and mean (± SD) IMT and IL-1b values were 0.72±0.12 mm and 23±19 pg/ml respectively. Among all subjects, mean adjusted CAP prevalence across IL-1b quartiles were: (Q1 – Q4): 63%, 67%, 60%, 57% (p=0.5). Mean adjusted IMT values across IL-1b quartiles were: 0.70, 0.71, 0.71, 0.74 mm (p=0.08). In these preliminary data, an interaction was suggested among IL-1b, IMT and CAP (p = 0.09). Among the subgroup without CAP, these values were: 0.68, 0.66, 0.66, 0.70 mm (p=0.67). While, among those with CAP there was a linear increase: 0.70, 0.74, 0.75, 0.77 mm (p=0.03).
Conclusion: Adjusted mean IMT values increased as crevicular IL-1b increased, solely among participants with CAP. These findings suggest that the potential impact of local gingival inflammation might not be in initiation but rather in the progression of established atherosclerosis. Supported by NIH grants: DE-13094, NS-29993, T32 HL-07779