CUHK electronic theses & dissertations collection

As the prevalence of atherosclerosis has risen to an alarming level throughout the world, this thesis investigated: (1) the effects of type 2 diabetes mellitus on the risk factors for atherosclerosis and the intima-media thickness (IMT) of the common carotid arteries (a surrogate marker for atherosclerosis), (2) the contribution of various risk factors to the IMT of the common carotid arteries and (3) the interrelationship between the risk factors.Atherosclerosis is the process by which the inner lining of a large or medium artery is deposited with lipids, cellular waste and other substances. It reduces the vessel's elasticity, lumen size and blood flow. Atherosclerosis is the primary underlying mechanism leading to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, the second and third leading causes of death in Hong Kong.Both traditional and emerging risk factors for atherosclerosis were studied: traditional risk factors include age, blood pressure, indices of glycaemia control (fasting glucose, insulin and haemoglobin-Alc), and fasting lipids, while the emerging risk factors include, abdominal fat volume (subcutaneous and visceral), inflammatory markers (interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-8 (IL-8) and high sensitivity c-reactive protein (hsCRP)), adiponectin, stress hormones (24 hr urinary noradrenaline and adrenaline, and plasma cortisol), and occupational stress (measured by a effort-reward imbalance questionnaire).Starting with 204 subjects recruited from three different studies, data from 84 normoglycaemic subjects, 23 patients with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and 77 patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) were included in the analysis. When the IMT of the common carotid arteries and various risk factors were compared between normoglycaemic, IGT and DM subjects: (1) the IMT of the common carotid arteries showed an increasing trend with the worsening of glycaemia control (normal<IGT<DM), (2) increased prevalence of hypertension, dyslipidaemia, and obesity were observed among DM patients, and (3) increased levels of inflammatory markers, reduced concentration of adiponectin (a anti-inflammatory substance), and increased plasma cortisol concentration were also found among DM subjects. As the studies were limited by sample size, only a few risk factors were found significantly related to the carotid IMT. Age was the only common risk factor which was found to be correlated to the IMT of both the normoglycaemic and the DM/IGT subjects. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)Fok Siu Pong."June 2005."Adviser: Lester A. H. Critchley.Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-01, Section: B, page: 0173.Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2005.Includes bibliographical references (p. 200-228).Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web.Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web.Abstracts in English and Chinese.School code: 1307