Evaluation of subclinical atherosclerosis in women with polycystic ovary syndrome based on ultra-high-frequency ultrasound and vector flow imaging

作者：Yinghui Dong, Shaofu Hong, Zimo Wang, Dan Song, Mengmeng Liu, Jieying Zeng, Yigang Du, Jinfeng Xu, Liyun Shi, Wenjing Gao, Fajin Dong · 发表于：Quantitative Imaging in Medicine and Surgery · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.21037/qims-2024-2834 · 被引用次数：3 · 研究领域：Cardiovascular Health and Disease Prevention、Ovarian function and disorders、Cerebrovascular and Carotid Artery Diseases

Background: The diagnosis of subclinical atherosclerosis is the key to the primary prevention of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CVD). Considering the increased risk of CVD in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), the purpose of this study was to detect the early damage of the carotid artery in PCOS patients using carotid ultra-high frequency ultrasound (UHFUS) and vector flow imaging (V Flow). Methods: This study prospectively recruited 40 PCOS patients and 30 age-matched control subjects (mean age 29±5 vs. 30±6 years, P=0.189). All subjects underwent comprehensive medical history collection, anthropometric and hematological examination. The maximum frequency 33 and 24 MHz probes were used to measure the intima/media thickness of common carotid artery (CCA) and the intima-media thickness (IMT) of carotid bulb (CB). The presence of atherosclerotic plaques was also assessed. V Flow was used to measure the wall shear stress (WSS), long-axis strain (LAS) and oscillatory shear index (OSI) of the anterior and posterior walls in CCA and CB. Results: Subclinical atherosclerosis was detected in 20.0% of PCOS patients and 3.3% of the control group (P=0.039). Clinical/biochemical-hyperandrogenism and insulin resistance (IR) demonstrated significantly higher prevalence in the PCOS group (40% vs. 0%, P<0.001) (45% vs. 3.3%, P<0.001) compared to the control group. The PCOS group exhibited a higher mean body mass index (BMI) (23.7±4.1 vs. 21.1±2.62 kg/m2, P=0.002) and waist-...