Comparison of Apolipoprotein B/A1 ratio, Framingham risk score and TC/HDL-c for predicting clinical outcomes in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention

Background Apolipoproteins (Apo) are known atherogenic factors that play important roles in many mechanisms related to coronary heart disease (CHD). However, it is unclear whether the apoB/apoA1 ratio is an equal or a better predictor than the Framingham Risk Score or TC/HDL-c for predicting clinical outcomes in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention. Methods We investigated the association between Apolipoprotein B/A1 ratio and cardiovascular risk factors as well as the severity of CHD in 2256 Han Chinese patients. The potential of Apolipoprotein B/A1 ratio, Framingham Risk Score and TC/HDL-c were assessed as a marker to predict cardiovascular adverse events in a prospective subgroup of 1639 CHD patients during a 5-year follow-up. Results In the multivariate model, adjusted odds ratios (ORs) were significant for 3-VD vs. 1-VD (OR = 2.36; 95% CI: 1.65-3.38, for the fourth vs. first quartile; P-trend < 0.001). The subgroup analysis showed that patients with a higher ApoB/ApoA1 ratio had an increased risk of developing multi-branch lesions and potentially suffer more cardiovascular adverse events (anginas, myocardial infarctions, heart failures, strokes, and cardiac deaths) in the future (adjusted HR =1.92; 95% CI: 1.10-3.13, for the fourth vs. first quartile). In the ROC analysis, the AUC for ApoB/A1 ratio was larger than that of Framingham Risk Score (0.604 vs. 0.543, p = 0.01) and TC/HDL-c (0.604 vs. 0.525, p < 0.01). Conclusion Our results suggest a significant association between ApoB/ApoA1 ratio and CHD severity and cardiovascular outcomes among patients with existing CHD and ApoB/A1 ratio demonstrated a better predictive accuracy for clinical outcomes compared with Framingham Risk Score and TC/HDL-c.