Discordance of Apolipoprotein B, Non-HDL-Cholesterol, and LDL-Cholesterol Predicts Risk of Increased Arterial Stiffness and Elevated Carotid Intima-Media Thickness in Middle-Aged and Elderly Chinese Adults

Discordance between serum cholesterol concentration and atherogenic lipoprotein particle number in people with metabolic disease: A systematic review

This systematic review examines the discordance between low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (non-HDL-C), and apolipoprotein B-100 (apoB) in individuals with metabolic diseases, such as metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes, and evaluates the implications for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk assessment. A systematic literature search was conducted using Academic Search Complete, CINAHL Complete, and MEDLINE databases from 10 January 2024 to 28 May 2024. Studies were selected based on pre-defined inclusion and exclusion criteria, focusing on observational studies that compared LDL-C, non-HDL-C, and apoB levels in individuals with metabolic disease. Studies were included if they assessed fasted blood samples and reported lipid measurements, excluding those involving drug therapies or dietary interventions. Nine studies met the inclusion criteria, revealing significant discordance between LDL-C and apoB levels in individuals with metabolic syndrome or type 2 diabetes. These individuals often achieve optimal LDL-C levels while exhibiting elevated apoB and non-HDL-C concentrations, highlighting the limitations of LDL-C as the sole marker for ASCVD risk. The discordance is largely attributed to differences in LDL particle size and density, with metabolic disease contributing to a higher proportion of small, dense, atherogenic LDL particles. Elevated triglyceride-rich lipoproteins (TRLs), such as very low-density lipoproteins (VLDL), were also identified as contributing to ASCVD risk underestimation by traditional LDL-C measurements. While LDL-C remains a central marker for ASCVD, apoB quantification provides a more accurate assessment of ASCVD risk, particularly in individuals with metabolic diseases. Incorporating apoB levels into therapeutic strategies for lipid reduction is recommended to improve cardiovascular risk management in this population.

Prevalence and influencing factors of abnormal carotid artery intima-media thickness in Henan Province in China

Background

Carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) has been shown to be a valuable predictor of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). The aim of this study was to investigate the influencing factors of CIMT among adults in Central China.

Methods

A total of 2,578 participants who underwent physical examination in Henan Provincial People's Hospital between January 2018 and July 2018 were enrolled. The respondents were divided into two subgroups according to their CIMT value (CIMT ≥1.0 mm group and CIMT <1.0 mm group). Variables considered were age, gender, total cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) triglycerides, fasting blood glucose, and uric acid levels, as well as hypertension, diabetes, body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio, body fat percentage, and visceral fat area (VFA). Logistic regression analysis was performed to explore the potential factors influencing CIMT.

Results

The proportion of CIMT ≥1.0 mm among the physical examination population was 27.42% (707/2 578). The analysis of the two groups revealed significant differences in age, sex, hypertension, diabetes, total cholesterol, and HDL cholesterol. In the logistic regression analysis, age (OR=1.071, 95%CI=1.062-1.080), male sex (OR=2.012, 95%CI=1.251-2.238), hypertension (OR=1.337, 95%CI=1.031-1.735), diabetes (OR=1.535, 95%CI=1.045-2.255), HDL cholesterol (OR=0.540, 95%CI=0.366-0.796), and LDL cholesterol (OR=1.336, 95%CI=1.154-1.544) were significantly associated with abnormal CIMT.

Conclusion

Early screening should be carried out among men, the older adults, and those with hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidemia.

Discordance of Circulating Non-HDL Cholesterol with LDL Cholesterol Concerning Long-Term Prognosis in Statin-Treated Individuals with Acute Coronary Syndrome and Previous Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting Undergoing Percutaneous Coronary Intervention

Background

Some individuals who maintain desirable low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels still experience the progression of atherosclerosis, which may eventually lead to cardiovascular events. Non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (non-HDL-C) levels are quantified to assess residual risk in statin-treated patients with coronary heart disease. The study aimed to estimate the predictive performance of discordance between non-HDL-C and LDL-C on clinical prognosis in statin-treated patients with previous coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).

Methods

468 statin-treated patients with previous CABG undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) as a secondary coronary treatment due to acute coronary syndrome (ACS) were retrospectively enrolled in this study. The definition of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) was a composite endpoint of cardiovascular death, recurring myocardial infarction, and a need for repeat revascularization. Cox proportional hazards modeling, restricted cubic splines regression, and discordance analysis were conducted to the association between all lipid parameters and the occurrence of MACEs. Discordant values were defined as LDL-C concentrations ≤ 1.8 mmol/L accompanied by non-HDL-C > 2.6 mmol/L.

Results

MACEs occurred in 95 patients over a median follow-up period of 744.5 days. Cox models demonstrated that increased concentrations of non-HDL-C and LDL-C levels were independent risk indicators of MACEs (p < 0.001). The restricted cubic spline analysis revealed a linear relationship between non-HDL-C concentrations and MACEs (p-nonlinear: 0.26), whereas a nonlinear relationship was observed between LDL-C concentrations and MACEs (p < 0.01). In the subgroup analysis, the spline curves revealed that the odds of the individuals with desirable LDL-C levels suffering MACEs emerged when non-HDL-C levels were above 2.07 mmol/L. Individuals who exhibited discordance involving high non-HDL-C/low LDL-C levels had an elevated risk of experiencing MACEs compared to those with concordantly low LDL-C and low non-HDL-C levels [hazard ratios (HRs) = 2.44, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.14-5.22, p = 0.02].

Conclusions

Non-HDL-C levels could predict the residual risk of MACEs in ACS patients with previous CABG and statin therapy that underwent percutaneous coronary intervention. A discordance between non-HDL-C and LDL-C in individuals with desirable LDL-C levels could be useful in identifying those with a residual risk of cardiovascular complications.

Predictive nomogram for coronary heart disease in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Objective

This study aimed to identify risk factors for coronary heart disease (CHD) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), build a clinical prediction model, and draw a nomogram.

Study design and methods

Coronary angiography was performed for 1,808 diabetic patients who were recruited at the department of cardiology in The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University from June 2020 to June 2022. After applying exclusion criteria, 560 patients were finally enrolled in this study and randomly divided into training cohorts (n = 392) and validation cohorts (n = 168). The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) is used to filter features in the training dataset. Finally, we use logical regression to establish a prediction model for the selected features and draw a nomogram.

Results

The discrimination, calibration, and clinical usefulness of the prediction model were evaluated using the c-index, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, calibration chart, and decision curve. The effects of gender, diabetes duration, non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, apolipoprotein A1, lipoprotein (a), homocysteine, atherogenic index of plasma (AIP), nerve conduction velocity, and carotid plaque merit further study. The C-index was 0.803 (0.759-0.847) in the training cohort and 0.775 (0.705-0.845) in the validation cohort. In the ROC curve, the Area Under Curve (AUC) of the training set is 0.802, and the AUC of the validation set is 0.753. The calibration curve showed no overfitting of the model. The decision curve analysis (DCA) demonstrated that the nomogram is effective in clinical practice.

Conclusion

Based on clinical information, we established a prediction model for CHD in patients with T2DM.

Advances for the treatment of lower extremity arterial disease associated with diabetes mellitus

Lower extremity arterial disease (LEAD) is a major vascular complication of diabetes. Vascular endothelial cells dysfunction can exacerbate local ischemia, leading to a significant increase in amputation, disability, and even mortality in patients with diabetes combined with LEAD. Therefore, it is of great clinical importance to explore proper and effective treatments. Conventional treatments of diabetic LEAD include lifestyle management, medication, open surgery, endovascular treatment, and amputation. As interdisciplinary research emerges, regenerative medicine strategies have provided new insights to treat chronic limb threatening ischemia (CLTI). Therapeutic angiogenesis strategies, such as delivering growth factors, stem cells, drugs to ischemic tissues, have also been proposed to treat LEAD by fundamentally stimulating multidimensional vascular regeneration. Recent years have seen the rapid growth of tissue engineering technology; tissue-engineered biomaterials have been used to study the treatment of LEAD, such as encapsulation of growth factors and drugs in hydrogel to facilitate the restoration of blood perfusion in ischemic tissues of animals. The primary purpose of this review is to introduce treatments and novel biomaterials development in LEAD. Firstly, the pathogenesis of LEAD is briefly described. Secondly, conventional therapies and therapeutic angiogenesis strategies of LEAD are discussed. Finally, recent research advances and future perspectives on biomaterials in LEAD are proposed.