Hyperhomocysteinemia as a metabolic disorder parameter is independently associated with the severity of coronary heart disease

OBJECTIVES: To study the associations between hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy) and the severity of coronary heart disease (CHD). METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed metabolic parameters, anthropometric variables, and life style habits in 292 CHD patients of different categories, and 100 controlled non-CHD patients with chest pain symptoms who were hospitalized in the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences and Sichuan Provincial People’s Hospital, Chengdu, China between October 2013 and September 2014. RESULTS: The prevalence of HHcy in CHD patients was 79.1%, while only 5% of non-CHD patients had elevated serum homocysteine (Hcy) concentrations. The prevalence of HHcy significantly increased from 5% in non-CHD controls to 66% in the stable angina pectoris (SAP) group, to 81.9% in the unstable angina pectoris group, and to 93.15% in the acute myocardial infarction (AMI) group (p<0.001). After adjusting for confounding factors, multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that HHcy was independently associated with CHD category (AMI versus SAP, odds ratio [6.38], 95% confidence interval; 1.18-34.46). The Hcy was negatively correlated with folic acid (r=-0.67, p<0.001) and vitamin B12 (r=-0.56, p<0.001). Of the CHD patients with HHcy, 51.1% had low folic acid and 42% had low vitamin B12, 7 or 5 times higher than that of CHD patients with normal-low Hcy concentrations (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Hyperhomocysteinemia is independently associated with the severity of CHD, and significantly correlated with low status of folic acid and vitamin B12 in CHD patients.