FRIDAY, July 18 (HealthDay News) -- The non-fasting apolipoprotein B100/apolipoprotein A1 (ApoB/ApoA1) ratio provides a better risk estimate for acute myocardial infarction than the low-density lipoprotein/high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol ratio or the total cholesterol/HDL ratio, according to an article published in the July 19 issue of The Lancet.
Matthew J. McQueen, of McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and colleagues performed a case-control study with 12,461 cases of acute myocardial infarction and 14,637 age- and gender-matched controls in 52 countries to compare the population-attributable risk (PAR) for the apolipoproteins and cholesterol risk indices in acute myocardial infarction.
The ApoB/ApoA1 ratio was a better indicator of risk for acute myocardial infarction (PAR, 54 percent) compared to the LDL/HDL cholesterol ratio (PAR, 37 percent) or the total cholesterol/HDL cholesterol (PAR, 32 percent), the researchers report. The findings were consistent across gender, ethnic groups and age.
"Our data provide broad and straightforward support that ApoB and ApoA1 should be introduced worldwide into clinical practice for the assessment of the risk of vascular disease," the authors conclude. "The clinical measurement of apolipoproteins is standardized, simple, inexpensive, and can be done with samples obtained from non-fasting individuals."
Funding for the study was provided by various pharmaceutical companies, with major contributions from AstraZeneca, Novartis, Aventis, Abbott, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Sanofi-Synthelabo.
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