Sex and Age Differences in Lipoprotein Subclasses Measured by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy: The Framingham Study

The sex differential in coronary heart disease (CHD) risk, which is not explained by male/female differences in lipid and lipoprotein concentrations, narrows with age. We examined whether this differential CHD risk might, in part, be attributable to the sizes of lipoprotein particles or concentratio...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Clinical chemistry (Baltimore, Md.) Md.), 2004-07, Vol.50 (7), p.1189-1200
Main Authors: Freedman, David S, Otvos, James D, Jeyarajah, Elias J, Shalaurova, Irina, Cupples, L. Adrienne, Parise, Helen, D'Agostino, Ralph B, Wilson, Peter W.F, Schaefer, Ernst J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age Factors
Analytical, structural and metabolic biochemistry
Biological and medical sciences
Cardiovascular diseases
Cholesterol
Coronary Disease - blood
Female
Females
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Humans
Investigative techniques, diagnostic techniques (general aspects)
Lipids
Lipoproteins - blood
Lipoproteins - chemistry
Lipoproteins - classification
Lipoproteins, HDL - blood
Lipoproteins, LDL - blood
Lipoproteins, VLDL - blood
Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
Male
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Molecular biophysics
NMR
Nuclear magnetic resonance
Offspring
Risk Factors
Sex Factors
Spectroscopy
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Summary:The sex differential in coronary heart disease (CHD) risk, which is not explained by male/female differences in lipid and lipoprotein concentrations, narrows with age. We examined whether this differential CHD risk might, in part, be attributable to the sizes of lipoprotein particles or concentrations of lipoprotein subclasses. We analyzed frozen plasma samples from 1574 men and 1692 women from exam cycle 4 (1988-1990) of the Framingham Offspring Study. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy was used to determine the subclass concentrations and mean sizes of VLDL, LDL, and HDL particles. Concentrations of lipids and apolipoproteins were measured by standard chemical methods. In addition to the expected sex differences in concentrations of triglycerides, LDL-cholesterol, and HDL-cholesterol, women also had a lower-risk subclass profile consisting of larger LDL (0.4 nm) and HDL (0.5 nm) particles. The sex difference was most pronounced for HDL, with women having a twofold higher (8 vs 4 micromol/L) concentration of large HDL particles than men. Furthermore, similar to the narrowing of the sex difference in CHD risk with age, the observed male/female difference in HDL particle size also decreased with age. Although lipoprotein particle sizes were highly correlated with lipid and lipoprotein concentrations, the sex differences in the mean sizes of lipoprotein particles persisted (P
ISSN:0009-9147
1530-8561
DOI:10.1373/clinchem.2004.032763