Discordance Between Circulating Atherogenic Cholesterol Mass and Lipoprotein Particle Concentration in Relation to Future Cardiovascular Disease in China Population

Abstract

BackgroundIt is uncertain whether measurement of circulating total atherogenic lipoprotein particle cholesterol mass (non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol [non-HDL-C]) or particle concentration (apolipoprotein B [Apo B]) more accurately reflects risk of incident cardiovascular disease (CVD). We evaluated CVD risk among China population in whom these markers where discordant.MethodsIn total, 7,117 initially healthy participants from the China Health and Nutrition Survey were included. Logistic regressions among Apo B, non-HDL-C, and LDL-C, respectively, were used to examined CVD risk by categories of concordant and discordant values defined by residual differences. Mediation analysis was performed to explore the intermediary effect of Apo B between the obesity and the risk of CVD.ResultsAlthough all 3 biomarkers were correlated (r ≥ 0.81), discordance occurred in approximately 16% of China participants. Participants with discordant high Apo B were more likely to have higher proportion of traditional risk factors and dyslipidemia. During a follow-up of 6 years, 207 CVD cases were identified. High LDL-C, non-HDL-C and Apo B were associated with increased risk of CVD. Participants with discordant high Apo B relative to LDL-C or non-HDL-C had increased CVD risk compared with concordant levels, odds ratios were 1.38 (95% CI: 1.01 to 1.87), 1.40 (95% CI: 1.01 to 1.94), respectively. Furthermore, mediation analyses revealed 16.67% of association between obesity with CVD was mediated by Apo B.ConclusionsDiscordance analysis demonstrates that Apo B is a more accurate marker of CVD risk in China healthy participants than LDL-C and non-HDL-C. Direct measurement of lipoprotein particle concentration might help better inform clinical risk assessment and guide clinical decision making.