INS and arteriosclerosis: There are also cross-sectional studies demonstrating significant correlations of fasting insulin levels with different entities of early arteriosclerosis such as carotid artery stiffness in 83 middle-aged patients with hypertension, or increased carotid IMT in 100 healthy middle-aged persons as well as coronary calcification in 443 middle-aged men and women (18, 20, 21).