Lipid profile, haemostatic variables and angiographically-defined coronary artery disease: a cross-sectional study in an Irish population.

More than 300 risk factors for coronary artery disease (CAD) have been described. There are important geographical and racial differences in both the prevalence of CAD and of potential risk factors. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between both the presence and extent of angiographically defined CAD in an Irish population and a spectrum of clinical risk factors, lipid profile and haemostatic variables. On univariate analysis, age, male gender, history of smoking, history of hypertension, total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL, Cholesterol, the LDL:HDL ratio, apoprotein B-100 and the apoprotein B-100: A-II ratio were associated with the presence of CAD. However, in multivariate analysis only age, male gender, a history of smoking and the apoprotein B-100: A-II ratio remained significantly associated with the presence of CAD. These same risk factors and apoprotein B-100 were significantly associated with the extent of CAD on multivariate analysis. In addition, apoprotein B-100 levels appeared to be associated with disease extent. When all significant variables associated with the presence or extent of CAD were analysed together in a multivariate model, they only accounted for 28% of the variability in the distribution of CAD. Thus, advancing age, male gender, cigarette smoking and apoprotein B-100 appear to be important correlates of the presence and extent of CAD in this selected population. However, in individual patients most of the variability in the distribution of occlusive CAD remains unexplained.