Non-obese men with high lipoprotein(a) values--a cardiovascular risk group different from those with the metabolic...

We have investigated the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors including insulin and lipoprotein(a) in 40-year old men from the island of Oland (n = 314, 84% of those invited) in order to assess to what extent insulin and lipoprotein(a)--two of the currently discussed risk factors--correlated with each other, as well as with some of the more established risk factors. An inverse correlation was found in bivariate analyses between lipoprotein(a) and some of the risk factors for cardiovascular disease included in the 'metabolic syndrome' (triglycerides; r = -0.15, BMI; r = -0.18, and insulin/glucose ratio; r = -0.18) (p < 0.001). In multivariate analysis only the inverse correlation with triglycerides remained. Since lipoprotein(a) has been shown to be an independent risk factor for myocardial infarction, there may exist two subgroups of cardiovascular risk patients: one more obese, hyperinsulinaemic and with several metabolic derangements; and another comprising non-obese subjects with higher lipoprotein(a) values.