LDL particle size and number compared with LDL cholesterol and risk categorization in end-stage renal disease patients.

BACKGROUND Few studies have been conducted that make comparisons between traditional measures of cholesterol and cholesterol subfractions, and only one study has compared low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) particle number, LDL-C particle size and LDL-C among end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between cholesterol measures and differences in risk stratification when using ATP-III guidelines compared with cholesterol particle number and size in ESRD patients. METHODS ESRD patients (n=1,092) from clinics associated with the Central Texas Nephrology Associates were recruited to participate in this study. RESULTS LDL particle size categorized more patients at-risk when compared with LDL-C, non-HDL-C and triglycerides. Pearson correlation coefficients revealed a strong significant correlation between LDL-C and LDL particle number (r2=0.908, p=0.0001) and a significant correlation between LDL particle number and LDL particle size (r2=-0.290, p=0.0001). A significant but weak correlation existed between LDL-C and LDL particle size (r2=0.107, p=0.0001). A significant correlation existed between LDL particle number and triglycerides (r2=0.335, p=0.0001) and a significant inverse relationship between LDL particle size and triglycerides (r2=-0.500, p=0.0001). CONCLUSIONS Our study seems to suggest that using LDL particle size may help to identify those who would not be considered at-risk using LDL-C, non-HDL-C or triglycerides alone, and can be used as a further screening measure that may be more predictive of coronary heart disease outcomes.