Atherogenic Index of Plasma (AIP): A marker of cardiovascular disease

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the cause of one third of deaths worldwide and this will progress because of increasing CVD's risk factors. The most basic task of dealing with the epidemic of CVD is primary prevention of risk factors. As Atherogenic Index of Plasma (AIP) is a strong marker to predict the risk of atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease, we assessed the correlation between AIP and other important factors. Methods: This cross-sectional study was a part of national non-communicable risk factors surveillance system data that has been established since 2004 in Iran. This was done on 1000 people between 2008 and 2010. The study was approved by Ethics Committee of Mashhad University of Medical Science. Chi square, Mann-Whitney U, correlation tests were used in this study. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 11. In all calculations, p <0.05 was considered as statistically significant level. Results: The study population consisted of 500 men and 500 women with mean±SD age 41.9±14.2 years. According to the AIP category, 9.8% (98) were in low risk group, 12.7% (127) were in intermediate risk and 77.5% (775) were in increased risk of CVD. AIP was significantly correlated with waist circumference (r=0.35, p<0.001), BMI (r=0.33, p<0.001) and physical activity (r=-0.09, p<0.01). Conclusion: AIP can be used as a regular monitoring index of CVD in every day practice, especially in persons with other cardiovascular risk factors.