Goal attainments and their discrepancies for low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and apolipoprotein B (apo B) in over 2,000 Chinese patients with known coronary artery disease or type 2 diabetes.

PURPOSE: Low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) is primary treatment target for patients with dislipidemia. The apolipoprotein B (apo B), an emerging biomarker for cardiovascular risk prediction, appears to be superior to the LDL-C. However, little is known about goal attainments and their discrepancies for LDL-C and apo B in Chinese patients with known CAD or DM. METHODS: A total of 2,172 hospitalized patients with known coronary artery disease (CAD) or DM, aged >27 years of old, were enrolled. The success rates for apo B and LDL-C goal attainments were evaluated and compared by categorization and by sex. RESULTS: When the success rates for apo B were compared with the ones for LDL-C, the former was higher than the latter across all categorizations, with the statistically significant differences seen in all patients, CAD alone and DM alone (P<0.0001), but not in coexistence of CAD and DM (P=0.190). The trend toward to higher success rates for LDL-C and apo B goal attainments in men than in women were noteworthy across all categorizations although only in all patients and in DM alone patients were the statistically significant differences found (P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The LDL-C lags behind the apo B in goal attainments in Chinese patients. Whether these discrepancies are associated with the occurrence differences for CAD and for stroke between the East Asia and the Western countries warrants further study.