Shoa L Clarke, Rose D L Huang, Austin T Hilliard, Michael G Levin, Disha Sharma, Blake Thomson, Julie Lynch, Philip S Tsao, J Michael Gaziano, Themistocles L Assimes
{"title":"Genetically predicted lipoprotein(a) associates with coronary artery plaque severity independent of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol.","authors":"Shoa L Clarke, Rose D L Huang, Austin T Hilliard, Michael G Levin, Disha Sharma, Blake Thomson, Julie Lynch, Philip S Tsao, J Michael Gaziano, Themistocles L Assimes","doi":"10.1093/eurjpc/zwae271","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Aims: </strong>Elevated lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] is a causal risk factor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, but the mechanisms of risk are debated. Studies have found inconsistent associations between Lp(a) and measurements of atherosclerosis. We aimed to assess the relationship between Lp(a), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and coronary artery plaque severity.</p><p><strong>Methods and results: </strong>The study population consisted of participants of the Million Veteran Program who have undergone an invasive angiogram. The primary exposure was genetically predicted Lp(a) estimated by a polygenic score. Genetically predicted LDL-C was also assessed for comparison. The primary outcome was coronary artery plaque severity categorized as normal, non-obstructive disease, one-vessel disease, two-vessel disease, and three-vessel or left main disease. Among 18 927 adults of genetically inferred European ancestry and 4039 adults of genetically inferred African ancestry, we observed consistent associations between genetically predicted Lp(a) and obstructive coronary plaque, with effect sizes trending upward for increasingly severe categories of disease. Associations were independent of risk factors, clinically measured LDL-C and genetically predicted LDL-C. However, we did not find strong or consistent evidence for an association between genetically predicted Lp(a) and risk for non-obstructive plaque.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Genetically predicted Lp(a) is positively associated with coronary plaque severity independent of LDL-C, consistent with Lp(a) promoting atherogenesis. However, the effects of Lp(a) may be greater for progression of plaque to obstructive disease than for the initial development of non-obstructive plaque. A limitation of this study is that Lp(a) was estimated using genetic markers and could not be directly assayed nor could apo(a) isoform size.</p>","PeriodicalId":12051,"journal":{"name":"European journal of preventive cardiology","volume":" ","pages":"116-127"},"PeriodicalIF":8.4000,"publicationDate":"2025-01-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"European journal of preventive cardiology","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1093/eurjpc/zwae271","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"CARDIAC & CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEMS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Aims: Elevated lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] is a causal risk factor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, but the mechanisms of risk are debated. Studies have found inconsistent associations between Lp(a) and measurements of atherosclerosis. We aimed to assess the relationship between Lp(a), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and coronary artery plaque severity.
Methods and results: The study population consisted of participants of the Million Veteran Program who have undergone an invasive angiogram. The primary exposure was genetically predicted Lp(a) estimated by a polygenic score. Genetically predicted LDL-C was also assessed for comparison. The primary outcome was coronary artery plaque severity categorized as normal, non-obstructive disease, one-vessel disease, two-vessel disease, and three-vessel or left main disease. Among 18 927 adults of genetically inferred European ancestry and 4039 adults of genetically inferred African ancestry, we observed consistent associations between genetically predicted Lp(a) and obstructive coronary plaque, with effect sizes trending upward for increasingly severe categories of disease. Associations were independent of risk factors, clinically measured LDL-C and genetically predicted LDL-C. However, we did not find strong or consistent evidence for an association between genetically predicted Lp(a) and risk for non-obstructive plaque.
Conclusion: Genetically predicted Lp(a) is positively associated with coronary plaque severity independent of LDL-C, consistent with Lp(a) promoting atherogenesis. However, the effects of Lp(a) may be greater for progression of plaque to obstructive disease than for the initial development of non-obstructive plaque. A limitation of this study is that Lp(a) was estimated using genetic markers and could not be directly assayed nor could apo(a) isoform size.
期刊介绍:
European Journal of Preventive Cardiology (EJPC) is an official journal of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and the European Association of Preventive Cardiology (EAPC). The journal covers a wide range of scientific, clinical, and public health disciplines related to cardiovascular disease prevention, risk factor management, cardiovascular rehabilitation, population science and public health, and exercise physiology. The categories covered by the journal include classical risk factors and treatment, lifestyle risk factors, non-modifiable cardiovascular risk factors, cardiovascular conditions, concomitant pathological conditions, sport cardiology, diagnostic tests, care settings, epidemiology, pharmacology and pharmacotherapy, machine learning, and artificial intelligence.