This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Correction (v36,p415) All Versions of this Article: 35/10/2248    most recent 01.STR.0000140629.65145.3cv1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Wallenfeldt, K. Articles by Fagerberg, B. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Wallenfeldt, K. Articles by Fagerberg, B. Pubmed/NCBI databases Substance via MeSH Medline Plus Health Information Metabolic Syndrome Nutrition Obesity Related Collections Cardiovascular imaging agents/Techniques Risk Factors Imaging Lipid and lipoprotein metabolism

(Stroke. 2004;35:2248.)
© 2004 American Heart Association, Inc.

Original Contributions

Apolipoprotein B/Apolipoprotein A-I in Relation to the Metabolic Syndrome and Change in Carotid Artery Intima-Media Thickness During 3 Years in Middle-Aged Men

Karin Wallenfeldt, MD; Lena Bokemark, MD PhD; John Wikstrand, MD PhD; Johannes Hulthe, MD PhD Björn Fagerberg, MD PhD

From the Institute of Internal Medicine (K.W., L.B., B.F.) and the Wallenberg Laboratory for Cardiovascular Research (J.W., J.H., B.F.), Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg University, Gothenburg, Sweden.

Correspondence to Dr Karin Wallenfeldt, Wallenberg Laboratory for Cardiovascular Research, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, S-413 45 Gothenberg, Sweden. E-mail karin.wallenfeldt{at}wlab.gu.se

Background and Purpose— The apolipoprotein B (apoB)/apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I) ratio is a measure of the relationship between different lipoprotein particles and a powerful predictor of coronary death. The aim was to examine whether apoB/apoA-I was associated with the metabolic syndrome (MetS) at baseline and also with the future change in carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT).

Methods— In 313 58-year-old men, carotid artery IMT was measured bilaterally by high-resolution B-mode ultrasound at baseline and after 3 years of follow-up. Serum apolipoprotein concentrations and the components of MetS were measured at study entry.

Results— ApoB/apoA-I showed statistically significant associations with body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) particle size, insulin, and diastolic blood pressure. Two thirds of the patients with MetS had high apoB/apoA-I ratios (>0.90) compared with one third of those without the syndrome (P<0.001). The IMT change was associated with apoB, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, and inversely with HDL cholesterol and LDL particle size at entry, and there was a strong colinearity between these variables. The subjects with apoB/apoA-I above the first tertile (0.74) had a 20-µm-higher (95% CI, 7 to 33) annual increase in IMT compared with those below this level after adjustment for blood pressure and smoking.

Conclusions— The apoB/apoA-I ratio was strongly associated with MetS and its components at baseline. ApoB/apoA-I at baseline was related to the change in carotid artery IMT during 3 years of follow-up. There was a strong colinearity between apoB/apoA and the atherogenic lipids.

Key Words: apolipoproteins • atherosclerosis • intima-media thickness

This article has been cited by other articles:

				C. Pitsavos, D. B. Panagiotakos, J. Skoumas, L. Papadimitriou, and C. Stefanadis Risk Stratification of Apolipoprotein B, Apolipoprotein A1, and Apolipoprotein B/AI Ratio on the Prevalence of the Metabolic Syndrome: the ATTICA Study Angiology, July 1, 2008; 59(3): 335 - 341. [Abstract] [PDF]

				E. M. M. Ooi, G. F. Watts, P. J. Nestel, D. Sviridov, A. Hoang, and P. H. R. Barrett Dose-Dependent Regulation of High-Density Lipoprotein Metabolism with Rosuvastatin in the Metabolic Syndrome J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., February 1, 2008; 93(2): 430 - 437. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. Sierra-Johnson, A. Romero-Corral, V. K. Somers, F. Lopez-Jimenez, G. Walldius, A. Hamsten, M.-L. Hellenius, and R. M. Fisher ApoB/apoA-I ratio: an independent predictor of insulin resistance in US non-diabetic subjects Eur. Heart J., November 1, 2007; 28(21): 2637 - 2643. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. R. Crouse III Thematic review series: Patient-Oriented Research. Imaging atherosclerosis: state of the art J. Lipid Res., August 1, 2006; 47(8): 1677 - 1699. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				L. Lind, B. Vessby, and J. Sundstrom The Apolipoprotein B/AI Ratio and the Metabolic Syndrome Independently Predict Risk for Myocardial Infarction in Middle-Aged Men Arterioscler. Thromb. Vasc. Biol., February 1, 2006; 26(2): 406 - 410. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Rizzo and K. Berneis Low-density lipoprotein size and cardiovascular risk assessment QJM, January 1, 2006; 99(1): 1 - 14. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				G. Walldius and I. Jungner Rationale for using apolipoprotein B and apolipoprotein A-I as indicators of cardiac risk and as targets for lipid-lowering therapy Eur. Heart J., February 1, 2005; 26(3): 210 - 212. [Full Text] [PDF]