The relationship between cardiometabolic and hemostatic variables: influence of race

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular disease research
• Hemostasis and thrombosis
• Metabolic health

Background:

• Elevated hemostatic variables (fibrinogen, PAI-1, t-PA/PAI-1 complex) are linked to arterial lesion progression and cardiovascular disease (CVD).
• Cardiometabolic variables (CMV) are key CVD risk factors.
• Understanding racial differences in hemostatic variable associations is crucial for CVD risk assessment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine relationships between traditional cardiometabolic variables and hemostatic variables in overweight/obese White American (WA) and African American (AA) women.
• To identify potential race-specific differences in these associations.
• To determine the most effective hemostatic marker for assessing overall health risk.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study involving 36 overweight/obese WA women and 30 overweight/obese AA women.
• Analysis of traditional cardiometabolic variables (e.g., lipids, blood pressure, insulin, waist-to-hip ratio).
• Statistical examination of associations between CMV and hemostatic variables (fibrinogen, PAI-1, t-PA/PAI-1 ratio), including race and interaction effects.

Main Results:

• Nine CMV were significantly associated with PAI-1 and/or the t-PA/PAI-1 ratio, but not fibrinogen.
• Significant race effects were observed for CMV related to fibrinogen and/or the t-PA/PAI-1 ratio.
• Interactions between race and specific CMV (HDL-C, WHR, DBP, insulin) were found for fibrinogen and PAI-1, but not the t-PA/PAI-complex.

Conclusions:

• PAI-1 and the t-PA/PAI-1 ratio are more valuable than fibrinogen for health risk evaluation in both WA and AA women.
• Clinical management of WA and AA women with elevated CMV should consider race-specific differences.
• The t-PA/PAI-1 complex emerged as the most comprehensive indicator of health risk in both racial groups studied.