LDL subfractions profile towards larger particles may reduce the risk of heart disease.
10 Evidence type: nested case-control study
Association of Small Low-Density Lipoprotein Particles With the Incidence of Coronary Artery Disease in Men and Women. Christopher D. Gardner, PhD; Stephen P. Fortmann, MD; Ronald M. Krauss, MD JAMA. 1996;276(11):875-881. doi:10.1001/jama.1996.03540110029028.
Incident CAD cases were identified through FCP surveillance between 1979 and 1992. Controls were matched by sex, 5-year age groups, survey time point, ethnicity, and FCP treatment condition. The sample included 124 matched pairs: 90 pairs of men and 34 pairs of women.
LDL size was smaller among CAD cases than controls (mean ±SD) (26.17±1.00nm vs 26.68±0.90nm;P<.001).The association was graded across control quintiles of LDL size. The significant case-control difference in LDL size was independent of levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), non—HDL cholesterol (non-HDL-C), triglyceride, smoking, systolic blood pressure, and body mass index, but was not significant after adjusting for the ratio of total cholesterol (TC) to HDL-C (TC:HDL-C). Among all the physiological risk factors, LDL size was the best differentiator of CAD status in conditional logistic regression. However, when added to the physiological parameters above, the TC:HDL-C ratio was found to be a stronger independent predictor of CAD status.
11 Evidence type: review
The small, dense LDL phenotype and the risk of coronary heart disease: epidemiology, patho-physiology and therapeutic aspects. Lamarche B, Lemieux I, Després JP. Diabetes Metab. 1999 Sep;25(3):199-211.
More than decade ago, several cross-sectional studies have reported differences in LDL particle size, density and composition between coronary heart disease (CHD) patients and healthy controls. Three recent prospective, nested case-control studies have since confirmed that the presence of small, dense LDL particles was associated with more than a three-fold increase in the risk of CHD. The small, dense LDL phenotype rarely occurs as an isolated disorder. It is most frequently accompanied by hypertriglyceridemia, reduced HDL cholesterol levels, abdominal obesity, insulin resistance and by a series of other metabolic alterations predictive of an impaired endothelial function and increased susceptibility to thrombosis.
28 Evidence type: prospective
A prospective, population-based study of low density lipoprotein particle size as a risk factor for ischemic heart disease in men. Lamarche B, St-Pierre AC, Ruel IL, Cantin B, Dagenais GR, Després JP. Can J Cardiol. 2001 Aug;17(8):859-65.
Analyses were conducted in a cohort of 2057 men who were all initially free of IHD, and who were followed up over a five-year period, during which 108 first IHD events (myocardial infarction, angina or coronary death) were recorded. LDL particle size was measured by nondenaturing gradient gel electrophoresis.
RESULTS: Cox proportional hazards analysis indicated that the relationship between LDL particle size and the risk of future IHD events was not linear. Men with an LDL particle size less than 256.0 A had a significant 2.2-fold increase in the five-year rate of IHD (P<0.001) compared with men having an LDL particle size greater than 256.0 A. Multivariate and subgroup analyses indicated that small, dense LDL particles predicted the rate of IHD independent of LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, apolipoprotein B and the total cholesterol to HDL cholesterol ratio. Finally, the magnitude of the increase in IHD risk attributed to lipid risk factors was modulated to a significant extent by variations in LDL particle size.
Small, dense low-density-lipoproteins (LDL) are associated with increased risk for cardiovascular diseases and diabetes mellitus and a reduction in LDL size has been reported in patients with coronary and non-coronary forms of atherosclerosis. LDL size has been accepted as an important predictor of cardiovascular events and progression of coronary artery disease as well 