The combination of high triglycerides and low HDL-C significantly increased the risk of coronary heart disease mortality in elderly women (HR 3.81; 95% CI 1.62-5.43), but not in men.
Cohort (n=3,257)
Do high serum triglycerides and low HDL-C levels increase the risk of CHD mortality in elderly subjects?
High triglycerides combined with low HDL-C is a strong, independent predictor of CHD mortality in elderly women, but not in men.
Hazard Ratio: 3.81 (95% CI 1.62–5.43)
BACKGROUND: The relationship between serum triglycerides (TG) level and the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality remains controversial. AIMS: To evaluate whether TG level is a risk factor for CHD in elderly people from general population, and to look for interactions between TG and other risk factors. METHODS: 3257 subjects aged >or= 65 years followed up for 12 years from the CArdiovascular STudy in the ELderly. Blood tests and anthropometric measurements were performed. Continuous items were divided into quintiles and, for each quintile, adjusted hazard ratio (HR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) for CHD mortality was derived by genders from Cox analysis. RESULTS: In women, the HR of being in the fifth rather than in the first quintile of TG was 2.45 (CI 1.48-3.51). In turn, high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) inversely predicted CHD mortality; the HR of being in the first rather than in the fifth quintiles of HDL-C was 1.52 (CI 1.24-2.36). The risk of CHD mortality further increased up to 3.81 (CI 1.62-5.43) when high TG and low HDL-C were combined. No predictive role for either TG or HDL-C was detected in men. CONCLUSIONS: TG and HDL-C were independent predictors of CHD mortality in elderly women. The combination high TG + low HDL-C quadrupled the risk of CHD mortality in this gender only.
Mazza et al. (Sat,) conducted a cohort in Coronary heart disease risk (n=3,257). High triglycerides and low HDL-C vs. Low triglycerides and high HDL-C was evaluated on Coronary heart disease mortality (HR 3.81, 95% CI 1.62-5.43). The combination of high triglycerides and low HDL-C significantly increased the risk of coronary heart disease mortality in elderly women (HR 3.81; 95% CI 1.62-5.43), but not in men.