Lipoprotein(a) as a marker of coronary artery disease and its association with dietary fat.

OBJECTIVE

The main objectives of the study were to evaluate the effect of dietary fat on plasma lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] levels and to study the potential of Lp(a) as a more reliable marker for CAD compared to other lipids and lipoproteins.

METHODS

Twenty CAD patients and 20 healthy controls were recruited for the study. Their fasting plasma Lp(a) levels and complete lipid profile were assayed. The fat intake was calculated using 24 hours dietary recall method. The patients and controls were each divided into two subgroups: Group A consuming dietary fat > 30% and Group B consuming dietary fat < or = 30% of the total kilo-calories/day.

RESULTS

Results indicated that plasma Lp(a), total serum cholesterol (TC), tryglyceride (TG), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and LDL-C/HDL-C ratio of CAD patients were significantly higher than the controls. High fat intake was found to be associated with higher plasma Lp(a) levels (p<0.05) in patients only. No significant correlation was found between Lp(a) levels and other conventional lipoproteins.

CONCLUSION

The lack of correlation between Lp(a) and other lipoproteins indicates its potential as an independent risk factor for CAD. High fat intake led to higher plasma Lp(a) levels in patients; hence it would be worthwhile to evaluate the effect of quality and quantity of fat intake on plasma Lp(a) levels in a larger sample size.