Objective: In the aged population, serum cholesterol is directly correlated with coronary heart disease (CHD) risk. We aimed to investigate the correlation between non-high density lipoprotein cholesterol (non-HDL-C) level and CHD and coronary lesions in an aged population.
Methods: 1,272 cases of old patients who were more than 65 years old and accepted for coronary angiography were analyzed retrospectively. Based on the result of coronary angiography, the patients were divided into control group and CHD group. Further, 767 CHD patients were divided into subgroups according to the number of branches with pathological changes and Gensini score. Serum TC, HDL-C, LDL-C and TG were assayed to measure the level of non-HDL-C. The differences in non-HDL-C among groups were compared, and the correlation between non-HDL-C and coronary artery disease degree was also analyzed.
Results: The non-HDL-C level in the CHD group was significantly higher than that in the control group (p < 0.01). Further, the serum non-HDL-C showed an increasing tendency accompanied by the increase in branches with lesions. Compared with patients with single or double coronary artery branches lesions, the non-HDL-C in those with multiple lesions in branches was significantly increased (p < 0.01, p < 0.05). With the aggravation of coronary artery stenosis, the serum non-HDL-C level was gradually increased. The most significant increase was observed in the group with Gensini score of more than 40. There was a significant difference between Gensini score > 40 group and Gensini score of 20-40 group and Gensini score < 20 group, respectively (p < 0.05, p < 0.01). Meanwhile, there were significant positive correlations between the serum non-HDL-C level and coronary lesions area and severity (r = 0.147, p < 0.01; r = 0.152, p < 0.01).
Conclusion: In conclusion, serum non-HDL-C was closely associated with development of CHD and coronary artery lesions severity.