The study tested the specific hypotheses that the positive association between rate of increase in carotid IMT and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (beta deltaIMT/LDL) was greater in persons with [1] higher levels of serum pro-oxidants (relative to persons with lower levels of serum pro-oxidants), [2] lower levels of serum antioxidants, [3] lower levels of dietary antioxidants; and [4] that regression of carotid IMT associated with smoking cessation would be detected in 30 months. Hypothesis were tested with the longitudinal observation of carotid IMT in Hispanic and non-Hispanic white women and men. The inclusion of Hispanics and women was motivated by their prevalence in the study population (18 percent Hispanic, 40 percent women), and by the then recent report that incidence of hospitalization for myocardial infarction was elevated in Hispanics. Seventy three persons from each of four ethnicity-sex groups aged 40-60 years (n-292), and 83 smokers and recent quitters (n-166) were recruited from employees in an ongoing study. Baseline blood, diet and potential confounder variables were related to 18 and 36 month (6, 12, 18, 24 and 30 month in smoker(s) changes in carotid IMT. Levels of antioxidant vitamins, including alpha-tocopherol, ascorbate, and beta carotene, in the plasma were measured at baseline. Plasma levels of negatively charged LDL were measured in a sub-sample of subjects with the most rapidly progressing common carotid intima-media thickness and in an age-sex matched subsample with the least rapidly progressing common carotid intima-media thickness. Finally, an ultrasound measurement of carotid arterial stiffness, another indicator of early atherosclerosis, was developed to address the role of blood pressure.