Title | Variability in B-mode ultrasound measurements in the atherosclerosis risk in communities (ARIC) study. |
Publication Type | Journal Article |
Year of Publication | 1996 |
Authors | Chambless LE, Zhong MM, Arnett D, Folsom AR, Riley WA, Heiss G |
Journal | Ultrasound Med Biol |
Volume | 22 |
Issue | 5 |
Pagination | 545-54 |
Date Published | 1996 |
ISSN | 0301-5629 |
Keywords | Analysis of Variance, Arteriosclerosis, Carotid Arteries, Humans, Middle Aged, Prospective Studies, Reproducibility of Results, Tunica Intima, Ultrasonography, United States |
Abstract | The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study is a multicenter, long-term epidemiologic study that uses B-mode ultrasound primarily to measure carotid arterial intima-media wall thickness. To assess the reliability of the measurement process of this application of B-mode technology to population-based research, 36 volunteers from four centers were scanned at three visits, 7-14 days apart. Estimates of the components of variation in the B-mode measurements of artery wall thickness from between-person, between-sonographer, within-sonographer, between-reader and within-reader variation are presented, along with estimates of the correlation R between measures made at repeat visits by different sonographers and read by different readers. The estimates of R for mean intima-media thickness are 0.69, 0.60, 0.54 and 0.66 for the carotid bifurcation, internal carotid, common carotid, and three-segment overall carotid mean, respectively. When these are adjusted to account for differences in between-person variance between the ancillary study and the main ARIC study, the estimated site-specific reliability coefficients appropriate to the ARIC study population are 0.77, 0.73 and 0.70 for mean carotid far-wall intima-media thickness at the carotid bifurcation and the internal and common carotid arteries. |
DOI | 10.1016/0301-5629(96)00039-7 |
Alternate Journal | Ultrasound Med Biol |
PubMed ID | 8865551 |
Grant List | N01-HC-55015 / HC / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States N01-HC-55016 / HC / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States N01-HC-55018 / HC / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States |