Abstract: Objective To explore the relationship of carotid plaque with body mass index (BMI) and growth hormone (GH) in the elderly patients with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Methods A total of 198 hospitalized elderly patients with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases were selected and divided into plaque group (170 cases) and non-plaque group (28 cases) according to the results of color Doppler ultrasound examination on the carotid artery. The levels of BMI and GH and the related clinical biochemical indexes were observed and compared between the two groups. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the influencing factors for carotid artery plaque, and Pearson correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlation between the GH,BMI and the biochemical index. Results There were significant differences in age, gender, smoking history, drinking history, the prevalence rate of hypertension and diabetes, the levels of BMI, triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), fasting plasma glucose(FPG), apolipoprotein A1 and GH between plaque group and non-plaque group (P<0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that age, smoking history, drinking history, hypertension, diabetes, GH, BMI, TG, TC were the influencing factors for the occurrence of carotid plaque(P<0.05). Pearson correlation analysis showed that GH was negatively correlated with BMI, plaque detection rate, TC, TG and FPG, while BMI was positively correlated with TC, TG and FPG. The results of trend chi-square test showed that plaque detection rate increased with the decrease of GH level and the increase of BMI(P<0.01). Conclusions The occurrence of carotid plaques in the elderly patients with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases is influenced by various factors. Age, history of smoking and drinking, hypertension, diabetes, BMI, TC, TG are the risk factors, while GH level is the protective factor. It is important to pay attention to the rational diet, proper exercise, changes in lifestyle, so as to reduce the incidence of carotid plaques.

Key words: aged, growth hormone, carotid plaque, body mass index