Association between cumulative atherogenic index of plasma exposure and risk of myocardial infarction in the general population

BACKGROUND: Atherogenic index of plasma (AIP) has been confirmed as a novel marker for myocardial infarction (MI), but few evidence on the long-term AIP and MI risk in general populations. We thus aimed to evaluate the relationships of cumulative exposure to AIP and its accumulation time course with the risk of MI. METHODS: A total of 54,440 participants were enrolled in the Kailuan study. Time-weighted cumulative AIP was calculated as the weighted sum of the mean AIP value for each time interval, then normalized by total exposure duration, the exposure duration was from 2006 to 2010. Duration of high AIP exposure was defined as the duration with high AIP and ranged from 0 to 6 years. The time course of AIP accumulation was categorized by the combination of time-weighted cumulative AIP < or ≥ median (− 0.12) and AIP slope. RESULTS: After 11.05 years of follow-up, 766 incident MI cases were documented. After adjustment for potential confounders, higher risk of MI was observed in participants with the highest time-weighted cumulative AIP quartile (HR, 1.89; 95% CI 1.47–2.43), the longest exposure duration of high AIP (HR, 1.52; 95% CI 1.18–1.95), and those with high time-weighted cumulative AIP and negative slope (HR, 1.42; 95% CI 1.13–1.79). CONCLUSIONS: Long-term cumulative exposure to AIP and the time course of AIP accumulation increased the risk of MI. High AIP earlier resulted in a greater risk increase than later in life with the same time-weighted cumulative AIP, emphasizing the importance of controlling atherogenic dyslipidemia early in life. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12933-023-01936-y.