Preclinical atherosclerosis in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases: A case-control study

Background: An independent role of chronic inflammation in the atherosclerotic process in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) has been suggested, but data are still contentious. We assessed pre-clinical atherosclerosis in the IBD patients without traditional risk factors. Methods: In this case-control study we assessed the early atherosclerotic alterations by carotid artery intima-media thickness (CIMT) measurement in IBD patients and matched controls. The normal CIMT values were ≤ 0.9 mm; moderate thickness when > 0.9 and ≤ 1.2 mm, and pre-clinical atherosclerosis when > 1.2 mm. We selected a homogeneous group of IBD patients, all in ongoing biologic therapy, without any traditional risk factor for atherosclerosis as well as controls. Results: The study enrolled 23 consecutive patients (16 with ulcerative colitis and 7 with Crohn's disease) and 20 controls matched for age and sex. The mean of CIMT values was not statistically different between patients and controls (0.68 ± 0.21 vs. 0.82 ± 0.2 mm; P = 0.4). The prevalence of moderate CIMT thickness was significantly lower in cases than in controls (8.7% vs. 42.8%; P = 0.01; OR: 0.15, 95% CI: 0.03-0.85). Conclusions: This case-control study found that the atherosclerotic process is not more apparent in IBD patients without traditional risk factors.