The sensibility of the new blood lipid indicator——atherogenic index of plasma (AIP) in menopausal women with coronary artery disease

BACKGROUND: Dyslipidemia is a key driver of coronary artery disease (CAD) development. This study aimed to determine whether the atherogenic index of plasma (AIP), a novel comprehensive lipid index, is an independent and reliable predictor of CAD risk in postmenopausal women. METHODS: A cohort of consecutive 4644 postmenopausal women (aged 50 or above) undergoing coronary angiography (CAG) in Anzhen Hospital (Beijing, China) from January–December 2014 was included in the analysis. Of them, 3039 women were CAD patients, and 1605 were non-CAD subjects. RESULTS: Relative to control subjects, TG levels in CAD patients were higher and HDL-C levels were lower. In CAD patients, non-traditional lipid profile values (TC/HDL-C, AI, and AIP) were significantly elevated relative to controls. AIP was positively correlated with TC (r = 0.157), TG (r = 0.835), LDL-C (r = 0.058), non-HDL-C (r = 0.337), TC/HDL-C (r = 0.683), LDL-C/HDL-C (r = 0.437), LCI (r = 0.662), and AI (r = 0.684), and negatively correlated with HDL-C (r = − 0.682) (all P < 0.001), but was independent of age (r = − 0.022; P = 0.130) and BMI (r = 0.020, P = 0.168). Aunivariate logistic regression analysis revealed AIP to be the measured lipid parameter most closely related to CAD, and its unadjusted odds ratio was 1.824 (95% CI: 1.467–2.267, P < 0.001). After adjusting for several CAD risk factors (age, BMI, smoking, drinking, EH, DM, hyperlipidemia, and family history of CVD, AIP was still found to represent a significant CAD risk factor (OR 1.553, 95% CI: 1.234–1.955, P < 0. 001). CONCLUSION: AIP may be a powerful independent predictor of CAD risk in Chinese Han postmenopausal women, and may be superior to the traditional lipid indices.