High triglyceride/HDL cholesterol ratio is associated with silent brain infarcts in a healthy population

• Published in: BMC neurology 2019-07, Vol.19 (1), p.147-147, Article 147
• Main Authors: Nam, Ki-Woong, Kwon, Hyung-Min, Jeong, Han-Yeong, Park, Jin-Ho, Kwon, Hyuktae, Jeong, Su-Min
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Blood cholesterol; Brain infarction; Cardiovascular diseases; Care and treatment; Cholesterol; Control; HDL cholesterol; Health aspects; Low density lipoproteins; Medical research; Triglycerides; Triglycerides; High-density lipoprotein; Silent brain infarct; Lacune; Cerebral small vessel diseases; Metabolic syndrome; Vascular diseases
• ISSN: 1471-2377; 1471-2377
• DOI: 10.1186/s12883-019-1373-8

Triglycerides (TG)/high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol ratio is a marker of small/dense low-density lipoprotein particles, which are closely associated with various metabolic and vascular diseases. However, the role of TG/HDL cholesterol ratio in cerebrovascular diseases has not been well studied. In this study, we evaluated the relationship between TG/HDL cholesterol ratio and the presence of silent brain infarct (SBI) in a neurologically healthy population. We retrospectively evaluated consecutive participants in health check-ups between January 2006 and December 2013. SBI was defined as an asymptomatic, well-defined lesion with a diameter of ≥3 mm on T1- or T2-weighted images. TG/HDL cholesterol ratio was calculated after dividing absolute TG levels by absolute HDL cholesterol levels. Of 3172 healthy participants, 263 (8.3%) had SBI lesions. In multivariate analysis, TG/HDL cholesterol ratio was independently associated with SBI (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.16, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.00 to 1.34, P = 0.047). This association was prominent in males (aOR = 1.23, 95% CI = 1.03 to 1.48, P = 0.021), but not in females. In the analyses of the relationships between lipid parameters and SBI lesion burden, TG/HDL cholesterol ratio was positively correlated, and total cholesterol/TG ratio was negatively correlated with SBI lesion burden, in dose-response manners (P for trend = 0.015 and 0.002, respectively). The TG/HDL cholesterol ratio was positively associated with the prevalence of SBI in a neurologically healthy population.