Relative impact of low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol concentration and insulin resistance on carotid wall thickening in nondiabetic, normotensive volunteers.

The relative effect of an increase in low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) concentration, as compared with insulin resistance and its manifestations, on intimal medial thickening (IMT) of the common carotid artery was defined in 72 healthy men and women. Insulin-mediated glucose disposal was quantified by the insulin suppression tests, in which the height of the steady-state plasma glucose (SSPG) concentration during the last 30 minutes of a 180-minute infusion of octreotide, insulin, and glucose provides an estimate of insulin resistance. IMT was determined by high-resolution B-mode ultrasonography.