Preventive cardiology
Comparison of Apolipoprotein-B/Apolipoprotein-AI in Subjects With Versus Without the Metabolic Syndrome

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjcard.2006.06.029Get rights and content

Recent studies have suggested that the apolipoprotein-B (apo-B)/apolipoprotein-AI (apo-AI) ratio predicts cardiovascular risk better than any of the cholesterol indexes. The aim of the present study was to assess if the apo-B/apo-AI ratio is related to the metabolic syndrome and its components. Data were analyzed from 2,964 subjects (mean age 48 years; 1,516 men, 1,448 women) from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III with apolipoprotein data who were evaluated for the metabolic syndrome and its components. The metabolic syndrome was defined according to the criteria of the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III and the International Diabetes Federation. The mean values of the apo-B/apo-AI ratio in subjects with and without the metabolic syndrome were compared. Overall, the median distribution of the apo-B/apo-AI ratio was significantly greater (p <0.0001) in subjects with the Adult Treatment Panel III metabolic syndrome (0.90) than without (0.69). The apo-B/apo-AI ratio was associated significantly with each of the metabolic syndrome components, in descending order of magnitude: low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (odds ratio [OR] 5.7), high triglycerides (OR 4.7), high waist circumference (OR 2.6), high fasting glucose (OR 1.9), and high blood pressure (OR 1.5). The apo-B/apo-AI ratio was also different between subjects with and without the metabolic syndrome. Mean values of apo-B/apo-AI increased significantly as the numbers of metabolic syndrome components increased in men (p <0.0001) and women (p <0.0001). After excluding high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides as criteria for the metabolic syndrome, the association between means persisted (analysis of variance p <0.0001) in men and women. Apo-B/apo-AI was significantly associated with the presence of the metabolic syndrome (OR 5.1, p <0.0001). In conclusion, the apo-B/apo-AI ratio is strongly associated with the presence of individual metabolic syndrome components, with the metabolic syndrome itself, and with insulin resistance. An elevated apo-B/apo-AI ratio may constitute an important feature of the metabolic syndrome and may provide an additional mechanism to explain the increased cardiovascular risk in subjects with this syndrome.

Section snippets

Methods and Results

The NHANES is a representative sample of the noninstitutionalized civilian population of the United States from 1988 to 1994. It consists of a periodic survey conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics designed to provide an estimate of the health of the nation. Detailed methods used in NHANES III are available for public access on the World Wide Web at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes.htm.

NHANES information was obtained from in-home interviews followed by medical evaluations and

Discussion

In this study of a representative sample of the noninstitutionalized civilian population of the United States, the apo-B/apo-AI ratio was associated with the metabolic syndrome and its components in men and women. The mean values of the apo-B/apo-AI ratio were associated with the presence and number of nonlipidic components of the metabolic syndrome, even after excluding patients with low HDL or high triglycerides. This important finding provides a novel perspective in the understanding of the

Acknowledgment

The data reported here were analyzed using NHANES files available for public use. All analysis, interpretation, and conclusions reached in this study were the work of the investigators, not of the National Center for Health Statistics.

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Dr. Somers was supported in part by Grant NIH R01 HL73211 from the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland. Dr. Lopez-Jimenez was supported in part by a Scientist Development Award from the American Heart Association, Dallas, Texas.

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