The relationship between the diagonal earlobe crease and the cardiovascular disease

耳垂皱褶（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有用性尚未完全了解。本研究的目的是评估ELC深度与颈动脉粥样硬化程度之间的关系。为了确定ELC的平均最大深度，采用条纹投影技术对双侧ELC进行了光学分析。逐步多元回归分析显示，颈动脉斑块评分（PS）与双侧ELC深度有显著的独立相关性。这些发现可能表明ELC深度在预测颈动脉粥样硬化程度方面的有用性，特别是由PS估计的颈动脉斑块负荷。

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.