title: [Plasma homocysteine concentrations in Mexican patients with ischemic heart disease].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Several risk factors for the development of coronary atherosclerosis (CA) have been identified. These included hyperlipidemia, hypertension, smoking and diabetes mellitus. As well as elevated plasma homocysteine (tHcys) levels, is considered an independent risk factor for CA in some American and Europeans studies, but its association are scare in Latin-American population. We therefore conducted a case-control study to explore this issue in Mexican population.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eighty eight patients with scintigraphic evidence of CAD or history of myocardial infarction compared with a control group of 96 individuals were analyzed. tHcys were measured in all subject's serum samples. Conventional risk factors were also analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A high prevalence of hyperhomocystinemia with no significant difference between the 2 groups was found. The mean concentration of tHcys was 13.9 micromol/L (SD +/- 6.9) in the CA group; and 14.8 micromol/L (SD +/- 7.3) in the control group. We did not obtain a statistical difference on tHcys concentration between patients with and without others risk factors, like diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, smoking and obesity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Ours results shown a high prevalence of hyperhomocystinemia (> 12 micromol/L) in Mexican people. However these high levels were not associated with evidence of CA. More studies in our population are warranted to clarify the possible influence of homocysteine on coronary atherosclerosis.
authors.affiliation: Departamentos de Medicina Interna, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición, Salvador Zubirán, Tlalpan, México, DF. aldomontano@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Aldo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Montaño-Loza
authors.forename: Judith
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Meza-Junco
authors.forename: Victoria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Valles
authors.forename: Lilia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Castillo-Martínez
authors.forename: Arturo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Orea-Tejeda
mesh_terms: D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006710:Homocysteine / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008800:Mexico; D008875:Middle Aged; D017202:Myocardial Ischemia / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D006710:Homocysteine