title: Hypertriglyceridemia is associated with an elevated blood viscosity Rosenson: triglycerides and blood viscosity.
abstract: Elevated blood viscosity is a predictor of cardiovascular disease. The major determinants of blood viscosity are hematocrit and plasma viscosity. Plasma triglycerides elevate plasma viscosity; however, the contribution of plasma triglycerides to blood viscosity after adjustment for other major covariates has not been reported. This cross-sectional study of 257 adult subjects evaluated the associations between fasting plasma lipids, fibrinogen, total serum protein, hematocrit and blood viscosity. Blood viscosity was measured at 37 degrees C with a coaxial cylinder microviscometer at shear rates of 100 and 1 s(-1). Blood viscosity values are reported both as uncorrected measurements and measurements corrected to a hematocrit of 45% by a regression equation. Uncorrected blood viscosity at a shear rate of 100 s(-1) was significantly associated with triglycerides, fibrinogen, high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, total serum protein, and hematocrit using stepwise multivariate regression analysis. When corrected blood viscosity at 100 s(-1) was the dependent variable, there were statistically significant associations with triglycerides, HDL cholesterol, and total serum protein. Corrected blood viscosity at 1 s(-1) was significantly associated with triglycerides, fibrinogen, total serum protein, and an indicator variable for diabetes mellitus. This study supports an additional mechanism whereby triglycerides may contribute to cardiovascular risk.
authors.affiliation: Lipoprotein and Hemorheology Research Facility, Section of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA. r-rosenson@northwestern.edu
authors.forename: Robert S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Rosenson
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shott
authors.forename: Christine C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Tangney
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001809:Blood Viscosity / Q000502:physiology*; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000097:blood*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005340:Fibrinogen / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D015228:Hypertriglyceridemia / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011336:Probability; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012494:Sampling Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D014280:Triglycerides; D005340:Fibrinogen