Clinical Assessment of the Neck Circumference-Carotid Artery Diameter Relationship among Adult Nigerians

The location of the carotid arteries in neck and their important role in the blood supply to head and neck places them in the special interest of researchers, especially on their relationship with the size of the neck. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship of the arterial diameters to neck circumference among Nigerian adults. A total of 104 human subjects with seemingly healthy parameters following screening were sampled. Using a measuring tape, neck circumferences were taken in centimeters. An EcoMed USS machine was used to scan both carotid triangles of all participants and luminal diameter measurements of common, internal and external carotid arteries were obtained. The results showed significant but weak positive correlations of neck circumference with right external carotid artery and left internal carotid artery in the males and only with the left external carotid artery in the females. However, no correlation with common carotid artery was noted. Although, neck circumference to a large extent can be used as a screener to determine overweight and obese individuals, its applicability to determine size of carotid artery diameter and predict cardiometabolic risk independently is doubtful. In addition, statistical significance may not be clinically applicable when the correlation is either weak or not uniform on all carotid arteries. From our index study, we believe that there is indication that neck circumference could be used for size determination of the carotid arteries among Nigerians, if all the compounding factors are known. Until then generalization is difficult. Therefore, there is need for further study using meta-analysis to arrive at a formula for Nigerians.

Key Words: carotid artery, diameter, neck circumference, Nigerians