[Relation between cardio-ankle vascular index (Cavi) and preheparin serum lipoprotein lipase mass--effect of age adjustment].

Many risk factors for coronary arterial diseases have been reported. Lipoprotein lipase (LPL) mass in serum has been suggested to be a new risk factor, but remains to be proven. The cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI) was developed as a new arterial stiffness index and is considered to be a surrogate marker of arteriosclerosis. The purpose of this study was to establish the role of LPL mass in arteriosclerosis by examining the relationship between LPL mass and CAVI in patients with arteriosclerotic risk factors. We studied 216 patients who attended our diabetic center with diagnoses of diabetes, hypertension and/or dyslipidemia. CAVI was measured using VaSera1500 (Fukuda Denshi, Tokyo). Serum level of LPL mass was measured by ELISA(Sekisui Co. Ltd.). When the subjects were divided by a CAVI cutoff level of 9.0, the glucose level, glycohemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) level and systolic blood pressure level were significantly higher in the over 9.0 individuals than in the under 9.0 individuals (p < 0.05). CAVI level was significantly higher in patients with hyperglycemia and hypertension. LPL mass was lower in subjects with higher CAVI than in those with lower CAVI. CAVI level correlated inversely with LPL mass. CAVI adjusted for the age was associated significantly with LPL mass. These results suggest that decreased LPL mass may be a risk marker for arteriosclerosis as indicated by the surrogate marker CAVI.