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Usefulness of Atherogenic Indices for Predicting High Values of Avoidable Lost Life Years Heart Age in 139,634
Tomás Sastre-Alzamora1, Pedro J Tárraga López2,3, Ángel Arturo López-González1,4,5,6
1Research ADEMA SALUD Group, University Institute for Research in Health Sciences (IUNICS), 07010 Palma, Spain.
Insights
Atherogenic indices are closely linked to heart age (HA), with higher levels indicating increased cardiovascular risk. Awareness of this connection can help reduce risk by motivating lifestyle changes.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Preventive Medicine
- Biostatistics
Background:
- Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are a leading global cause of death.
- The WHO recommends non-invasive, low-cost tools for CVD risk assessment.
- Atherogenic indices and heart age (HA) are key indicators of cardiovascular risk (CVR).
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the association between atherogenic indices and heart age (HA).
- To identify optimal cut-off values for atherogenic indices in predicting high HA.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional study of 139,634 Spanish workers.
- Analysis of three atherogenic indices and their correlation with HA.
- Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis to determine cut-off values and Area Under the Curve (AUC).
Main Results:
- Increased atherogenic indices correlated with higher HA and avoidable lost life years (ALLY).
- Total cholesterol/HDL-c index showed the highest AUC (0.803 in females, 0.790 in males).
- LDL-c/HDL-c and triglycerides/HDL-c indices also demonstrated significant predictive value for high HA.
Conclusions:
- Atherogenic indices and HA are closely related, with rising indices predicting higher HA.
- Increased patient awareness of the link between CVR and HA may aid in CVR reduction.
- Atherogenic indices serve as valuable, accessible tools for CVD risk stratification.
Background:
Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, accounting for one-third of all global deaths. The World Health Organization (WHO) asserts that prevention is the most effective strategy to combat CVD, emphasizing the need for non-invasive, low-cost tools to identify individuals at high risk of CVD. Atherogenic indices and heart age (HA) are valuable tools for assessing cardiovascular risk (CVR). The aim of our study was to evaluate the association between atherogenic indices and HA.
Methods:
A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 139,634 Spanish workers to determine the association between three atherogenic indices and HA. ROC curves were employed to identify the cut-off values for the various atherogenic indices used to estimate high HA. The cut-off points, along with their sensitivity, specificity, and Youden index, were determined, and the area under the curve (AUC) was calculated.
Results:
As the values of the atherogenic indices increased, so did the risk of having elevated avoidable lost life years (ALLY) HA. In the ROC curve analysis, the AUC with the best results corresponded to the total cholesterol/HDL-c atherogenic index, with an AUC of 0.803 in females and 0.790 in males. The LDL-c/HDL-c atherogenic index showed an AUC of 0.780 in women and 0.750 in men, with Youden indices around 0.4. When analyzing the AUC of the atherogenic index for triglycerides/HDL-c, the results were 0.760 in women and 0.746 in men.
Conclusions:
Atherogenic indices and HA show a close relationship, with an increase in these indices leading to a rise in HA values. Raising patient awareness that as their CVR levels increase, so does their HA may be useful in achieving some benefit in reducing CVR.
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