Association between nontraditional lipid profiles and peripheral arterial disease in Chinese adults with hypertension

BACKGROUND: Data on the relationship between nontraditional lipid profiles [total cholesterol (TC)/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) ratio, triglyceride (TG)/HDL-C ratio, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C)/HDL-C ratio, non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (non-HDL-C)] and the risk of peripheral artery disease (PAD) are limited. The present study investigated the relationship of nontraditional lipid indices with PAD in hypertensive patients. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was performed among 10,900 adults with hypertension. Participants were diagnosed with PAD when their ankle-brachial index (ABI) was < 0.9. The association between nontraditional lipid profiles and PAD was examined using multivariate logistic regression analysis and the restricted cubic spline. RESULTS: All nontraditional lipid indices were independently and positively associated with PAD in a dose-response fashion. After multivariable adjustment, the per SD increments of the TC/HDL-C, TG/HDL-C, LDL-C/HDL-C ratios and non-HDL-C were all significantly associated with 37, 14, 40, and 24% higher risk for PAD, respectively. The adjusted ORs (95% CI) for PAD were 1.77 (1.31, 2.40), 1.71 (1.25, 2.34), 2.03 (1.50, 2.74), and 1.70 (1.25, 2.31) when comparing the highest tertile to the lowest tertile of the TC/HDL-C, TG/HDL-C, LDL-C/HDL-C ratios and non-HDL-C, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Among Chinese hypertensive adults, all nontraditional lipid indices were positively associated with PAD, and the LDL-C/HDL-C and TC/HDL-C ratios were better than the other nontraditional lipid indices for predicting PAD. These findings may improve the risk stratification of cardiovascular disease and dyslipidemia management. TRIAL REGISTRATION: CHiCTR, ChiCTR1800017274. Registered 20 July 2018. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Supplementary information accompanies this paper at 10.1186/s12944-020-01407-3.