Elevated lipoprotein(a) is a genetic risk factor for cardiovascular disease in general population studies. However, its contribution to risk for cardiovascular events in patients with established ...cardiovascular disease or on statin therapy is uncertain.
Patient-level data from seven randomised, placebo-controlled, statin outcomes trials were collated and harmonised to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) for cardiovascular events, defined as fatal or non-fatal coronary heart disease, stroke, or revascularisation procedures. HRs for cardiovascular events were estimated within each trial across predefined lipoprotein(a) groups (15 to <30 mg/dL, 30 to <50 mg/dL, and ≥50 mg/dL, vs <15 mg/dL), before pooling estimates using multivariate random-effects meta-analysis.
Analyses included data for 29 069 patients with repeat lipoprotein(a) measurements (mean age 62 years SD 8; 8064 28% women; 5751 events during 95 576 person-years at risk). Initiation of statin therapy reduced LDL cholesterol (mean change −39% 95% CI −43 to −35) without a significant change in lipoprotein(a). Associations of baseline and on-statin treatment lipoprotein(a) with cardiovascular disease risk were approximately linear, with increased risk at lipoprotein(a) values of 30 mg/dL or greater for baseline lipoprotein(a) and 50 mg/dL or greater for on-statin lipoprotein(a). For baseline lipoprotein(a), HRs adjusted for age and sex (vs <15 mg/dL) were 1·04 (95% CI 0·91–1·18) for 15 mg/dL to less than 30 mg/dL, 1·11 (1·00–1·22) for 30 mg/dL to less than 50 mg/dL, and 1·31 (1·08–1·58) for 50 mg/dL or higher; respective HRs for on-statin lipoprotein(a) were 0·94 (0·81–1·10), 1·06 (0·94–1·21), and 1·43 (1·15–1·76). HRs were almost identical after further adjustment for previous cardiovascular disease, diabetes, smoking, systolic blood pressure, LDL cholesterol, and HDL cholesterol. The association of on-statin lipoprotein(a) with cardiovascular disease risk was stronger than for on-placebo lipoprotein(a) (interaction p=0·010) and was more pronounced at younger ages (interaction p=0·008) without effect-modification by any other patient-level or study-level characteristics.
In this individual-patient data meta-analysis of statin-treated patients, elevated baseline and on-statin lipoprotein(a) showed an independent approximately linear relation with cardiovascular disease risk. This study provides a rationale for testing the lipoprotein(a) lowering hypothesis in cardiovascular disease outcomes trials.
Novartis Pharma AG.
BACKGROUND:Clinical lipid measurements do not show the full complexity of the altered lipid metabolism associated with diabetes mellitus or cardiovascular disease. Lipidomics enables the assessment ...of hundreds of lipid species as potential markers for disease risk.
METHODS:Plasma lipid species (310) were measured by a targeted lipidomic analysis with liquid chromatography electrospray ionization–tandem mass spectrometry on a case-cohort (n=3779) subset from the ADVANCE trial (Action in Diabetes and Vascular DiseasePreterax and Diamicron-MR Controlled Evaluation). The case-cohort was 61% male with a mean age of 67 years. All participants had type 2 diabetes mellitus with ≥1 additional cardiovascular risk factors, and 35% had a history of macrovascular disease. Weighted Cox regression was used to identify lipid species associated with future cardiovascular events (nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, and cardiovascular death) and cardiovascular death during a 5-year follow-up period. Multivariable models combining traditional risk factors with lipid species were optimized with the Akaike information criteria. C statistics and NRIs were calculated within a 5-fold cross-validation framework.
RESULTS:Sphingolipids, phospholipids (including lyso- and ether- species), cholesteryl esters, and glycerolipids were associated with future cardiovascular events and cardiovascular death. The addition of 7 lipid species to a base model (14 traditional risk factors and medications) to predict cardiovascular events increased the C statistic from 0.680 (95% confidence interval CI, 0.678–0.682) to 0.700 (95% CI, 0.698–0.702; P<0.0001) with a corresponding continuous NRI of 0.227 (95% CI, 0.219–0.235). The prediction of cardiovascular death was improved with the incorporation of 4 lipid species into the base model, showing an increase in the C statistic from 0.740 (95% CI, 0.738–0.742) to 0.760 (95% CI, 0.757–0.762; P<0.0001) and a continuous net reclassification index of 0.328 (95% CI, 0.317–0.339). The results were validated in a subcohort with type 2 diabetes mellitus (n=511) from the LIPID trial (Long-Term Intervention With Pravastatin in Ischemic Disease).
CONCLUSIONS:The improvement in the prediction of cardiovascular events, above traditional risk factors, demonstrates the potential of plasma lipid species as biomarkers for cardiovascular risk stratification in diabetes mellitus.
CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION:URLhttps://clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifierNCT00145925.
Abstract
Aims
Distinct ceramide lipids have been shown to predict the risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) events, especially cardiovascular death. As phospholipids have also been linked with CVD ...risk, we investigated whether the combination of ceramides with phosphatidylcholines (PCs) would be synergistic in the prediction of CVD events in patients with atherosclerotic coronary heart disease in three independent cohort studies.
Methods and results
Ceramides and PCs were analysed using liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS) in three studies: WECAC (The Western Norway Coronary Angiography Cohort) (N = 3789), LIPID (Long-Term Intervention with Pravastatin in Ischaemic Disease) trial (N = 5991), and KAROLA (Langzeiterfolge der KARdiOLogischen Anschlussheilbehandlung) (N = 1023). A simple risk score, based on the ceramides and PCs showing the best prognostic features, was developed in the WECAC study and validated in the two other cohorts. This score was highly significant in predicting CVD mortality multiadjusted hazard ratios (HRs; 95% confidence interval) per standard deviation were 1.44 (1.28–1.63) in WECAC, 1.47 (1.34–1.61) in the LIPID trial, and 1.69 (1.31–2.17) in KAROLA. In addition, a combination of the risk score with high-sensitivity troponin T increased the HRs to 1.63 (1.44–1.85) and 2.04 (1.57–2.64) in WECAC and KAROLA cohorts, respectively. The C-statistics in WECAC for the risk score combined with sex and age was 0.76 for CVD death. The ceramide-phospholipid risk score showed comparable and synergistic predictive performance with previously published CVD risk models for secondary prevention.
Conclusion
A simple ceramide- and phospholipid-based risk score can efficiently predict residual CVD event risk in patients with coronary artery disease.
The role of aspirin in reducing lipoprotein(a)-mediated atherothrombotic events in primary prevention is not established.
This study sought to assess whether low-dose aspirin benefits individuals ...with elevated plasma lipoprotein(a)-associated genotypes in the setting of primary prevention.
The study analyzed 12,815 genotyped individuals ≥70 years of age of European ancestry and without prior cardiovascular disease events enrolled in the ASPREE (ASPirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly) randomized controlled trial of 100 mg/d aspirin. We defined lipoprotein(a)-associated genotypes using rs3798220-C carrier status and quintiles of a lipoprotein(a) genomic risk score (LPA-GRS). We tested for interaction between genotypes and aspirin allocation in Cox proportional hazards models for incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) and clinically significant bleeding. We also examined associations in the aspirin and placebo arms of the trial separately.
During a median 4.7 years (IQR: 3.6-5.7 years) of follow-up, 435 MACE occurred, with an interaction observed between rs3798220-C and aspirin allocation (P = 0.049). rs3798220-C carrier status was associated with increased MACE risk in the placebo group (HR: 1.90; 95% CI: 1.11-3.24) but not in the aspirin group (HR: 0.54; 95% CI: 0.17-1.70). High LPA-GRS (vs low) was associated with increased MACE risk in the placebo group (HR: 1.70; 95% CI: 1.14-2.55), with risk attenuated in the aspirin group (HR: 1.41; 95% CI: 0.90-2.23), but the interaction was not statistically significant. In all participants, aspirin reduced MACE by 1.7 events per 1,000 person-years and increased clinically significant bleeding by 1.7 events per 1,000 person-years. However, in the rs3798220-C and high LPA-GRS subgroups, aspirin reduced MACE by 11.4 and 3.3 events per 1,000 person-years respectively, without significantly increased bleeding risk.
Aspirin may benefit older individuals with elevated lipoprotein(a) genotypes in primary prevention.
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Millions of people can potentially be exposed to smoke from forest fires, making this an important public health problem in many countries.
In this study we aimed to measure the association between ...out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) and forest fire smoke exposures in a large city during a severe forest fire season, and estimate the number of excess OHCAs due to the fire smoke.
We investigated the association between particulate matter (PM) and other air pollutants and OHCA using a case-crossover study of adults (≥ 35 years of age) in Melbourne, Australia. Conditional logistic regression models were used to derive estimates of the percent change in the rate of OHCA associated with an interquartile range (IQR) increase in exposure. From July 2006 through June 2007, OHCA data were collected from the Victorian Ambulance Cardiac Arrest Registry. Hourly air pollution concentrations and meteorological data were obtained from a central monitoring site.
There were 2,046 OHCAs with presumed cardiac etiology during our study period. Among men during the fire season, greater increases in OHCA were observed with IQR increases in the 48-hr lagged PM with diameter ≤ 2.5 μm (PM2.5) (8.05%; 95% CI: 2.30, 14.13%; IQR = 6.1 μg/m(3)) or ≤ 10 μm (PM10) (11.1%; 95% CI: 1.55, 21.48%; IQR = 13.7 μg/m(3)) and carbon monoxide (35.7%; 95% CI: 8.98, 68.92%; IQR = 0.3 ppm). There was no significant association between the rate of OHCA and air pollutants among women. One hundred seventy-four "fire-hours" (i.e., hours in which Melbourne's air quality was affected by forest fire smoke) were identified during 12 days of the 2006/2007 fire season, and 23.9 (95% CI: 3.1, 40.2) excess OHCAs were estimated to occur due to elevations in PM2.5 during these fire-hours.
This study found an association between exposure to forest fire smoke and an increase in the rate of OHCA. These findings have implications for public health messages to raise community awareness and for planning of emergency services during forest fire seasons.
BACKGROUND:D-dimer, a degradation product of cross-linked fibrin, is a marker for hypercoagulability and thrombotic events. Moderately elevated levels of D-dimer are associated with the risk of ...venous and arterial events in patients with vascular disease. We assessed the role of D-dimer levels in predicting long-term vascular outcomes, cause-specific mortality, and new cancers in the LIPID trial (Long-Term Intervention with Pravastatin in Ischaemic Disease) in the context of other risk factors.
METHODS:LIPID randomized patients to placebo or pravastatin 40 mg/d 5 to 38 months after myocardial infarction or unstable angina. D-dimer levels were measured at baseline and at 1 year. Median follow-up was 6.0 years during the trial and 16 years in total.
RESULTS:Baseline D-dimer levels for 7863 patients were grouped by quartile (≤112, 112–173, 173–273, >273 ng/mL). Higher levels were associated with older age, female sex, history of hypertension, poor renal function, and elevated levels of B-natriuretic peptide, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, and sensitive troponin I (each P<0.001). During the first 6 years, after adjustment for up to 30 additional risk factors, higher D-dimer was associated with a significantly increased risk of a major coronary event (quartile 4 versus 1hazard ratio HR, 1.45; 95% confidence interval, 1.21–1.74), major cardiovascular disease (CVD) event (HR, 1.45; 95% confidence interval, 1.23–1.71) and venous thromboembolism (HR, 4.03; 95% confidence interval, 2.31–7.03; each P<0.001). During the 16 years overall, higher D-dimer was an independent predictor of all-cause mortality (HR, 1.59), CVD mortality (HR, 1.61), cancer mortality (HR, 1.54), and non-CVD noncancer mortality (HR, 1.57; each P<0.001), remaining significant for deaths resulting from each cause occurring beyond 10 years of follow-up (each P≤0.01). Higher D-dimer also independently predicted an increase in cancer incidence (HR, 1.16; P=0.02).The D-dimer level increased the net reclassification index for all-cause mortality by 4.0 and venous thromboembolism by 13.6.
CONCLUSIONS:D-dimer levels predict long-term risk of arterial and venous events, CVD mortality, and non-CVD noncancer mortality independent of other risk factors. D-dimer is also a significant predictor of cancer incidence and mortality. These results support an association of D-dimer with fatal events across multiple diseases and demonstrate that this link extends beyond 10 years’ follow-up.
CONTEXT The associations of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), non–high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (non–HDL-C), and apolipoprotein B (apoB) levels with the risk of cardiovascular ...events among patients treated with statin therapy have not been reliably documented. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the relative strength of the associations of LDL-C, non–HDL-C, and apoB with cardiovascular risk among patients treated with statin therapy. DESIGN Meta-analysis of individual patient data from randomized controlled statin trials in which conventional lipids and apolipoproteins were determined in all study participants at baseline and at 1-year follow-up. DATA SOURCES Relevant trials were identified by a literature search updated through December 31, 2011. Investigators were contacted and individual patient data were requested and obtained for 62 154 patients enrolled in 8 trials published between 1994 and 2008. DATA EXTRACTION Hazard ratios (HRs) and corresponding 95% CIs for risk of major cardiovascular events adjusted for established risk factors by 1-SD increase in LDL-C, non–HDL-C, and apoB. RESULTS Among 38 153 patients allocated to statin therapy, 158 fatal myocardial infarctions, 1678 nonfatal myocardial infarctions, 615 fatal events from other coronary artery disease, 2806 hospitalizations for unstable angina, and 1029 fatal or nonfatal strokes occurred during follow-up. The adjusted HRs for major cardiovascular events per 1-SD increase were 1.13 (95% CI, 1.10-1.17) for LDL-C, 1.16 (95% CI, 1.12-1.19) for non–HDL-C, and 1.14 (95% CI, 1.11-1.18) for apoB. These HRs were significantly higher for non–HDL-C than LDL-C (P = .002) and apoB (P = .02). There was no significant difference between apoB and LDL-C (P = .21). CONCLUSION Among statin-treated patients, on-treatment levels of LDL-C, non–HDL-C, and apoB were each associated with risk of future major cardiovascular events, but the strength of this association was greater for non–HDL-C than for LDL-C and apoB.
ASPirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly (ASPREE), a placebo-controlled prevention trial of low dose aspirin, provided the opportunity to establish a biospecimen biobank from initially healthy ...persons aged 70+ years for future research. The ASPREE Healthy Ageing Biobank (ASPREE Biobank) collected, processed and stored blood and urine samples at -80degC or under nitrogen vapour at two timepoints, three years apart, from a willing subset of Australian ASPREE participants. Written informed consent included separate opt-in questions for biomarker and genetic testing. Fractionated blood and urine were aliquoted into multiple low-volume, barcoded cryotubes for frozen storage within 4 hours of collection. Specially designed and outfitted mobile laboratories provided opportunities for participation by people in regional and rural areas. Detailed, high quality demographic, physiological and clinical data were collected annually through the ASPREE trial. 12,219 participants contributed blood/urine at the first timepoint, 10,617 of these older adults provided 3-year follow-up samples, and an additional 1,712 provided saliva for DNA. The mean participant age was 74 years, 54% were female and 46% lived outside major cities. Despite geographical and logistical challenges, nearly 100% of blood/urine specimens were processed and frozen within 4 hours of collection into >1.4 million aliquots. After a median of 4.7 years, major clinical events among ASPREE Biobank participants included 332 with dementia, 613 with cardiovascular disease events, 1259 with cancer, 357 with major bleeds and 615 had died. The ASPREE Biobank houses and curates a large number of biospecimens collected prior to the clinical manifestations of major disease, and 3-year follow-up samples, all linked to high quality, extensive phenotypic information. This provides the opportunity to identify or validate diagnostic, prognostic and predictive biomarkers, and potentially study biological effectors, of ageing-related diseases or maintenance of older-age good health.
BACKGROUNDThe neurocognitive effect of statins in older adults remain uncertain. OBJECTIVESThe aim of this study was to investigate the associations of statin use with cognitive decline and incident ...dementia among older adults. METHODSThis analysis included 18,846 participants ≥65 years of age in a randomized trial of aspirin, who had no prior cardiovascular events, major physical disability, or dementia initially and were followed for 4.7 years. Outcome measures included incident dementia and its subclassifications (probable Alzheimer's disease, mixed presentations); mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and its subclassifications (MCI consistent with Alzheimer's disease, other MCI); and changes in domain-specific cognition, including global cognition, memory, language and executive function, psychomotor speed, and the composite of these domains. Associations of baseline statin use versus nonuse with dementia and MCI outcomes were examined using Cox proportional hazards models and with cognitive change using linear mixed-effects models, adjusting for potential confounders. The impact of statin lipophilicity on these associations was further examined, and effect modifiers were identified. RESULTSStatin use versus nonuse was not associated with dementia, MCI, or their subclassifications or with changes in cognitive function scores over time (p > 0.05 for all). No differences were found in any outcomes between hydrophilic and lipophilic statin users. Baseline neurocognitive ability was an effect modifier for the associations of statins with dementia (p for interaction < 0.001) and memory change (p for interaction = 0.02). CONCLUSIONSIn adults ≥65 years of age, statin therapy was not associated with incident dementia, MCI, or declines in individual cognition domains. These findings await confirmation from ongoing randomized trials.
There are no primary prevention trials of aspirin with relevant geriatric outcomes in elderly people. ASPirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly (ASPREE) is a placebo-controlled trial of low-dose ...aspirin that will determine whether 5 years of daily 100-mg enteric-coated aspirin extends disability-free and dementia-free life in a healthy elderly population and whether these benefits outweigh the risks.
Set in primary care, this randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial has a composite primary endpoint of death, incident dementia or persistent physical disability. Participants aged 70+ years (non-minorities) or 65+ years (U.S. minorities) were free of cardiovascular disease, dementia, or physical disability and without a contraindication to, or indication for, aspirin. Baseline data include physical and lifestyle, personal and family medical history, hemoglobin, fasting glucose, creatinine, lipid panel, urinary albumin:creatinine ratio, cognition (3MS, HVLT-R, COWAT, SDMT), mood (CES-D-10), physical function (gait speed, grip strength), Katz activities of daily living and quality of life (SF-12).
Recruitment ended in December 2014 with 16,703 Australian and 2,411 U.S. participants, a median age of 74 (range 65-98) years and 56% women. Approximately 55% of the U.S. cohort were from minority groups; 9% of the total cohort. Proportions with hypertension, overweight, and chronic kidney disease were similar to age-matched populations from both countries although lower percentages had diabetes, dyslipidemia, and osteoarthritis.
Findings from ASPREE will be generalizable to a healthier older population in both countries and will assess whether the broad benefits of daily low-dose aspirin in prolonging independent life outweigh the risks.