The relationship between the diagonal earlobe crease and the cardiovascular disease

耳垂皱纹(ELC)的存在被认为是动脉粥样硬化的标志。然而，ELC程度在预测动脉粥样硬化程度方面的作用尚不完全清楚。本研究的目的是评价颈动脉粥样硬化程度与ELC深度之间的关系。为了确定ELC的平均最大深度，直接对双侧ELC进行了条纹投影光学分析。逐步多元回归分析显示颈动脉斑块积分(PS)与双侧ELC深度显著独立相关。这些发现可能表明ELC深度在预测颈动脉粥样硬化的程度，特别是PS估计的颈动脉斑块负荷方面是有用的。

The presence of earlobe creases(ELC) has been proposed to be a marker of atherosclerosis. However, the usefulness of the degree of ELC in predicting extent of atherosclerosis has not been fully understood. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the relationship between the depth of ELC and the extent of carotid atherosclerosis. In order to determine the average largest depth of ELC, an optical analysis with the fringe projection technique was performed directly on the bilateral ELC. A stepwise multivariate regression analysis revealed that carotid plaque score(PS) demonstrated a significant independent association with the bilateral ELC depth. These findings may indicate the usefulness of the ELC depth in predicting the extent of carotid atherosclerosis, especially the carotid plaque burden as estimated by the PS.