Korean Circ J.  2006 Feb;36(2):150-158. 10.4070/kcj.2006.36.2.150.

Distribution of Serum Lipoprotein(a) Level and its Association with Other Risk Factors in Apparently Healthy Korean

• Lee HJ
• Pae JC
• Sung KC
• Park SK
• Chon CU
• Ryu SH
• Yun JH
• Kim BJ
• Kang JH
• Lee MH
• Park JR

• KMID: 2093963
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4070/kcj.2006.36.2.150

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Recent studies have demonstrated that lipoprotein (a) [Lp(a)] plays an important role in atherothrombogenesis and to be associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular disease.
SUBJECTS AND METHODS
We evaluated the distribution of Lp (a) and its association with cardiovascular risk factors, by conducting a cross sectional survey of 14,516 apparently healthy Koreans. The study group consisted of 8,007 men and 6,509 women, aged 20 years and over.
RESULTS
The mean, medium and 75th percentile Lp (a) levels were 20.1, 13.2 and 23.8 mg/dL, respectively. The distribution of Lp (a) was highly skewed toward a lower level. The Lp (a) level was positively associated with age (p<0.001) and low density lipoprotein (LDL)(p<0.001). The body mass index (BMI)(p=0.006), log (triglyceride)(p<0.001) and alcohol consumption more than 3 times per week (p<0.047) were inversely related to the Lp (a) level. However, no relationship was seen with smoking, gender, exercise, homeostatic model assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and high sensitivity C reactive protein (hsCRP).
CONCLUSION
The Lp (a) level was positively associated with age and low density lipoprotein (LDL). The body mass index (BMI) and log (triglyceride) were inversely related to the Lp (a) level. However, the association between Lp (a) and cardiovascular disease in the general Korean population should be confirmed via large scale prospective cohort studies.

Keyword

Lipoproteins (a); Cardiovascular disease

MeSH Terms

Alcohol Drinking
Body Mass Index
C-Reactive Protein
Cardiovascular Diseases
Cohort Studies
Cross-Sectional Studies
Female
Humans
Lipoprotein(a)*
Lipoproteins
Male
Risk Factors*
Smoke
Smoking
C-Reactive Protein
Lipoprotein(a)
Lipoproteins
Smoke