Comparison of equations for the calculation of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in thai population

Background: Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) has been established as a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. Various equations have been proposed for LDL-C calculation; however, the accuracy of these equations varies among different ethnicities. This study aimed to assess the accuracy and concordance of LDL-C equations for dyslipidemia classifications in Thai adults. Materials and Methods: The lipid profiles of 1091 healthy Thai adults were measured using a homogenous enzymatic assay. The estimated LDL-C equations by Friedewald, Ahmadi, Anandaraja, Chen, Cordova, Densethakul, Hattori, Martin, Puavillai, Sampson, and Vujovic were compared to directly measured LDL-C using Pearson's correlation test. Cohen's kappa statistic was also used to test the concordance of the LDL-C equations with directly measured LDL-C levels, according to the standard guidelines for blood cholesterol management. Results: The LDL-C values calculated by Friedewald, Sampson, and Chen equations showed a high degree of correlation and values close to directly measured LDL-C levels with mean differences ranging from − 0.04 to 0.07 mmol/L. All these three equations had a high degree of concordances with directly measured LDL-C levels for classifying the degree of dyslipidemia. Conclusion: Friedewald, Sampson, and Chen equations showed better estimations of LDL-C levels and had higher accuracy in classifying the degree of LDL-C strata than other equations in the Thai population.