The Relationship Between Small Dense Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol and Metabolic Syndrome

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular Research
• Metabolic Health
• Biomarker Discovery

Background:

• Small dense low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (sdLDL-C) is a known dyslipidemia marker associated with cardiovascular disease risk.
• The specific relationship between sdLDL-C and metabolic syndrome (MetS) has remained largely undefined.
• Understanding this link is crucial for comprehensive cardiovascular risk assessment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between sdLDL-C and the prevalence of MetS.
• To explore the correlation of sdLDL-C with individual components of MetS.
• To determine if sdLDL-C can serve as a predictive biomarker for MetS.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 23,187 health checkup participants.
• Statistical analyses included Spearman correlation, ROC curve analysis, and logistic regression.
• Mediation analysis was employed to explore indirect relationships between biomarkers.

Main Results:

• The MetS group showed significantly higher sdLDL-C levels (P<0.001).
• Strong correlations were found between sdLDL-C and triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), LDL-C, Gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), and HDL-C.
• Logistic regression indicated a dose-dependent increase in MetS risk with higher sdLDL-C quartiles, with an optimal cut-off of 0.98 mmol/L (AUC=0.716).

Conclusions:

• sdLDL-C is significantly correlated with MetS and its components.
• sdLDL-C demonstrated a mediating role in the relationship between GGT and TG.
• sdLDL-C and GGT are proposed as valuable parameters for MetS prevention and monitoring.