Intact insulin, insulin propeptides, and intima-media thickness in the femoral artery in 58-year-old clinically healthy men - The Atherosclerosis and Insulin Resistance Study

The aim of this study was to examine the association between intact insulin, insulin propeptides, and femoral artery intima-media thickness. The design was a cross-sectional study and the study group (n = 391) consisted of randomly recruited clinically healthy 58-year-old Swedish men. The intima-media thickness of the common femoral artery was measured with ultrasound. Fasting plasma insulin; intact insulin; proinsulin; 32,33 split-proinsulin; and C-peptide concentrations were assessed. The results showed that the common femoral artery intima-media thickness correlated significantly and univariately with waist-hip ratio, systolic blood pressure, serum total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, ApoB, low-density lipoprotein peak particle size, and cigarette years. Furthermore, of intact insulin and insulin propeptides, only intact insulin and C-peptide were univariately associated with common femoral artery intima-media thickness (r = 0.14, p < 0.01; r = 0.18, p < 0.01; respectively). In a multiple regression analysis, common femoral artery intima-media thickness was independently associated with systolic blood pressure (beta-coefficient = 0.004, p = 0.002), ApoB (beta-coefficient = 0.338, p < 0.001) and cigarette years (beta-coefficient = 0.0004, p < 0.001), (R-2 = 25%, p < 0.001). In conclusion, smoking, systolic blood pressure, and ApoB but not insulin or insulin propeptides were independently associated with femoral atherosclerosis.