Why the study?
Do apolipoprotein(a), fibrinogen, and fibrinopeptide A levels associate with carotid intima-media thickness in middle-aged men?
Do apolipoprotein(a), fibrinogen, and fibrinopeptide A levels associate with carotid intima-media thickness in middle-aged men?
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Apo(a) was associated with thicker carotid IMT in men; hypothesis-generating and should not yet change practice.
The association between apolipoprotein(a) [apo(a)], fibrinogen, fibrinopeptide A (FPA) and carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) was analyzed in Eastern Finnish men aged 50 to 60 years. Apo(a) correlated directly with carotid bifurcation (r = 0.26, p = 0.001), but not with common carotid IMT. Men in the lowest quartile of apo(a) had thinner (p = 0.013) IMT in bifurcation [1.59 mm (95% CI 1.49; 1.68)] compared to the men in the highest [1.91 mm (95% CI 1.73; 2.09)] apo(a) quartile. The difference remained (p = 0.038) after adjusting for confounders. Plasma fibrinogen was not related to carotid IMT, whereas FPA correlated with common carotid (r = 0.21, p = 0.016) and carotid bifurcation (r = 0.21, p = 0.018) IMT. These associations abolished after adjusting for the confounders. The data suggest that apo(a) associate with carotid atherosclerosis independent of other risk factors for ischemic cardiovascular diseases.
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Rankinen et al. (1994) studied this question.
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