New Lipid Biomarkers of Little Use in Predicting Cardiovascular Risk

A pooled analysis provides no justification for routinely adding any new tests to current lipid panels.

During the past decade, a myriad of new lipid biomarkers have been purported to correlate better than traditional lipid measures with cardiovascular risk. To assess the value of these novel biomarkers for routine use in risk prediction, investigators pooled data from 37 cohorts including more than 165,000 individuals with a median follow-up of 10 years.

The combination of apolipoprotein B (apoB) and apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I), lipoprotein(a) (Lp[a]), and lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A₂ (Lp-PLA₂) all performed worse than total cholesterol and HDL at predicting cardiovascular risk, and adding the newer markers to conventional risk factors improved risk prediction only slightly. By the authors' estimate, 13,622 of every 100,000 adults …

Reviewing Author

JoAnne M. Foody, MD

Disclosures

Consultant / Advisory boardAegerion; Amarin; Bristol-Myers Squibb; Janssen; Merck; Pfizer; Sanofi-Aventis; Boehringer Ingelheim

Leadership positions in professional societiesAmerican College of Cardiology, Cardiosmart (Co-chair)

JoAnne M. Foody, MD

Disclosures

Consultant / Advisory boardAegerion; Amarin; Bristol-Myers Squibb; Janssen; Merck; Pfizer; Sanofi-Aventis; Boehringer Ingelheim

Leadership positions in professional societiesAmerican College of Cardiology, Cardiosmart (Co-chair)

New Lipid Biomarkers of Little Use in Predicting Cardiovascular Risk

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Reviewing Author