Assessing HDL Anti-Inflammatory Capacity May Aid CV Risk Prediction

WEDNESDAY, April 28, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Measuring high-density lipoprotein (HDL) anti-inflammatory capacity may improve cardiovascular disease risk assessment, according to a study published online April 12 in Circulation.

Congzhuo Jia, M.D., from University of Groningen in the Netherlands, and colleagues assessed whether HDL anti-inflammatory capacity was prospectively associated with first cardiovascular events in the general population. The analysis included 340 cases experiencing a first cardiovascular event and followed for a median of 10.5 years as well as matched controls with baseline samples.

The researchers found that HDL anti-inflammatory capacity was not associated with HDL cholesterol or high-sensitivity C-reactive protein. HDL anti-inflammatory capacity was significantly lower in cases compared with controls (31.6 versus 27.0 percent) and was inversely associated with incident cardiovascular disease in a fully adjusted model (odds ratio [OR] per one standard deviation [SD], 0.74). Similar associations were seen for all individual components of the cardiovascular disease end point. There was no association observed between HDL anti-inflammatory capacity and cholesterol efflux capacity. When efflux and anti-inflammatory capacity were combined in one adjusted model, both were significantly and independently associated with incident cardiovascular disease (efflux: OR per one SD, 0.74; anti-inflammatory capacity: OR per one SD, 0.66). Risk prediction using the Framingham risk score was improved by adding HDL anti-inflammatory capacity.

“The HDL anti-inflammatory capacity could represent a novel pharmacological intervention target for improving cardiovascular disease risk,” the authors write.

One author reported ties to the pharmaceutical industry.

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