title: Remnant lipoprotein-cholesterol is a predictive biomarker for large artery atherosclerosis in apparently healthy women: usefulness as a parameter for annual health examinations.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Recently, remnant lipoprotein is expected to be a new therapeutic target in the age of 'beyond LDL-cholesterol'. The aim of this study was to clarify the clinical significance of remnant lipoprotein cholesterol (RemL-C) determination in annual health examinations with the focus on large artery atherosclerosis. Methods and results Subjects investigated were men (n = 528) and women (n = 318) who underwent annual health examinations at Osaka University. RemL-C was measured with a newly developed homogeneous assay. Carotid and aortic atherosclerosis was estimated by intima-media thickness (IMT) and cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI), respectively. First, simple regression analysis revealed that the RemL-C levels positively correlated with maximum IMT, mean IMT and CAVI in the whole group (P < 0.05). Next, receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that the most effective levels of RemL-C for predicting carotid and aortic atherosclerosis were 0.21 mmol/L (P < 0.05) and 0.22 mmol/L (P < 0.01) or more, respectively. Odds ratios (ORs) of high RemL-C levels (0.21 mmol/L or more) for carotid and aortic atherosclerosis were significantly increased, especially in low-risk, apparently healthy women (OR: 4.20, P < 0.05 and 3.79, P < 0.01, respectively). Five out of 13 female low-risk cases (38%) with carotid atherosclerosis showed high serum RemL-C levels. It should be emphasized that conventional risk factors are still strong predictors for large artery atherosclerosis in the whole group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results indicate that high serum RemL-C level is a predictive hallmark for large artery atherosclerosis in apparently healthy women. Determination of RemL-C should be employed as one of the parameters in annual health examinations.
authors.affiliation: Division of Health Sciences, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Suita, Osaka.
authors.forename: Mikiyasu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Taguchi
authors.forename: Masato
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ishigami
authors.forename: Makoto
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nishida
authors.forename: Toshiki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Moriyama
authors.forename: Shizuya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yamashita
authors.forename: Taku
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamamura
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001018:Aortic Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis*; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D002340:Carotid Artery Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000175:diagnosis; D008074:Lipoproteins / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013223:Statistics as Topic
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D008074:Lipoproteins; C030104:lipoprotein cholesterol; D002784:Cholesterol