Browsing by Author "Marinković, Jelena M (7004611210)"

AIM: To investigate the association between socioeconomic status and metabolic syndrome, lifestyle, clinical and biochemical characteristics, and inflammatory markers as risk factors for carotid atherosclerotic disease. METHODS: This cross-sectional study, involving 657 consecutive patients with verified carotid atherosclerotic disease, was performed in Belgrade, Serbia, during the period 2006-2007. Formal education level was used as a proxy for socioeconomic status. Anthropometric parameters and data on cardiovascular risk factors were analyzed in participants with different levels of education--low (< or = primary school), medium (secondary school), and high (university education). In the analysis, univariate and multivariate logistic regressions were used. RESULTS: Multivariate analysis showed that low education was significantly positively associated with female sex (odds ratio [OR], 2.38; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.45-3.81), increased triglycerides (OR, 1.79; 95% CI, 1.12-2.78), increased high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) (OR, 3.53; 95% CI, 2.17-5.88), and physical inactivity (OR, 4.24; 95% CI, 1.82-9.86) and negatively associated with former smoking (OR, 0.42; 95% CI, 0.23-0.75). Medium education was significantly positively associated with increased triglycerides (OR, 1.73; 95% CI, 1.14-2.62) and increased hsCRP (OR, 2.17; 95% CI, 1.37-3.41), and negatively with age (OR, 0.97; 95% CI, 0.94-0.99). CONCLUSION: Increased triglycerides and hsCRP in people with low and medium education, and high prevalence of metabolic syndrome, its components and inflammatory markers in all study participants, suggest that regular health check-up, especially for those with lower education, may be useful in early detection and treatment of any abnormality that can be associated with cardiovascular disease.

Background Drug-eluting stents (DES) are the most common device used in percutaneous treatment of coronary artery disease. Recently, there has been an increased concern regarding their safety profile, in particular the late and very late stent thrombosis rate compared to bare metal stents (BMS). The aim of the study was to compare the reported incidence of late and very late stent thrombosis of DES and BMS in patients from published clinical studies with an extended follow-up period to four years. Methods A search strategy was developed to identify publications reporting on late or very late thrombosis of BMS and DES available through MEDLINE and Cochrane Library databases. Two independent reviewers appraised eligible studies and extracted data. Odds ratios (OR) were calculated for each outcome and presented with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results Fourteen randomized controlled trials, which were at least single blinded, were identified. There was no difference in the incidence of late and very late stent thrombosis in patients treated with DES compared with patients treated with BMS (late OR 0.55, 95%CI 0.23-1.31 and late/very late OR=1.08, 95%CI 0.61-1.91). Conclusions The safety profile of DES was similar to BMS in terms of stent thrombosis. We found no evidence of increased risk of late and very late thrombosis for DES.