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Association of calcified carotid artery plaque in panoramic images and diagonal earlobe crease

2018; Oxford University Press; Volume: 48; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1259/dmfr.20170256

1476-542X

Paulo Henrique Couto Souza, Soraya de Azambuja Berti Couto, Cassiana Nathalie Machado Majewski, Isteicy Cortêz Silva, Liziane Cattelan Donaduzzi, Isabela Maria Vasconcelos Silva, Maria do Carmo Lisboa, Urie K. Lee, Ida K Friedlander, Arthur H. Friedlander,

Congenital Ear and Nasal Anomalies

Objectives: Brazilians who are free of traditional atherogenic risk factors frequently suffer myocardial infarctions (MI). Calcified carotid artery plaque (CCAP) on panoramic images (PIs) has been shown to be a validated "risk indicator" of future MIs. The diagonal earlobe crease (DELC) is likewise a validated "risk indicator" of future MI. We sought to determine the prevalence of DELC+ among patients having CCAP+ on their PIs. Methods: In a masked cross-sectional study, three dentists evaluated PIs of patients (N = 481) over age 55 for presence of CCAP+. Among the CCAP+ cohort, the presence of DELC+ was determined by two additional dentists masked to the presence of CCAP+ on PIs. A control group (CCAP–) comprised of individuals with PIs devoid of plaque was similarly evaluated for evidence of DELC+. Results: A mixed-gender group (8.6%) of patients (N = 41; mean age 67.5 ± 6.8) evidenced CCAP+ on their PIs and approximately 88% of these individuals (N = 36) had concomitant DELC+. Among members of the control group (N = 41), 17 patients were DELC+. Our results demonstrated that among the full mixed-gender cohort (N = 82), the association between CCAP+ and DELC+ was statistically significant (p = 0.0001). However, when adjusting for gender, only the CCAP+ men were significantly (p = 0.00011) more likely to evidence DELC+ on clinical examination. Conclusions: Males with atherosclerosis of their carotid arteries as evidenced by PIs displaying calcified atheromas are significantly more likely to evidence a DELC+ than those without an imaged atheroma.