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Lack of correlation between coronary risk factors and CAD severity
S Krishnaswami1, V J Jose, G Joseph
1Department of Cardiology, Christian Medical College Hospital, Vellore, India.
Insights
This study found that while risk factors are linked to coronary arterial disease (CAD) occurrence, their association with disease severity is weak. Age showed a slight correlation, but other factors like diabetes and smoking did not significantly impact CAD severity in this male patient cohort.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Medical Research
Background:
- Coronary arterial disease (CAD) is a significant health concern.
- Understanding the relationship between risk factors and CAD severity is crucial for patient management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the correlations between individual risk factors and the severity of coronary arterial disease (CAD) in male patients.
- To determine the predictive value of common risk factors for CAD severity.
Main Methods:
- Utilized the Gensini scoring system to quantify coronary arterial lesion severity in 1666 male patients.
- Performed univariate and multiple regression analyses to assess correlations between CAD severity and risk factors (age, diabetes, smoking, family history, hypertension, lipids).
Main Results:
- Age showed a statistically significant but very weak correlation with CAD severity (r=0.0873, P < 0.001).
- Univariate analysis revealed no significant correlation between CAD severity and diabetes, smoking, family history, hypertension, or lipid fractions.
- Multiple regression identified significant correlations with LDL Cholesterol and total cholesterol, and family history, but these factors explained only 14.1% of the variance (R2).
Conclusions:
- While risk factors are associated with the occurrence of CAD, their quantitative association with disease severity is weak.
- The identified risk factors have limited predictive power for the severity of coronary arterial disease in this population.
Abstract:
The coronary arterial lesions seen by angiography in 1666 consecutive male patients were converted to a score by the standardized scoring system advocated by Gensini. The resulting score, which allowed the disease to be expressed as a continuous variable, was effectively utilized to see the correlations between the severity of coronary arterial disease (CAD) and individual risk factors/risk markers. Significant correlations were seen between severity and age (P < 0.001), with a very low coefficient of correlation of 0.0873. On univariate analysis, no correlation was found between CAD severity and diabetes, smoking, positive family history of CAD, hypertension and other lipid fractions. On multiple regression analysis, significant correlations were found between severity and LDL Cholesterol, family history and total cholesterol after adjusting for other factors. The R2 for all these risk factors was only 14.1%. It is concluded that, although strong associations exist between risk factors and the occurrence of CAD, the small quantitative association detected between the presence of risk factors and the severity of disease is weak.