Cholesterol, creatinine, platelet count tied to myocardial infarction, angina pectoris

Among the biochemical indices of obesity, cholesterol, creatinine, and platelet count appear to correlate with myocardial infarction or angina pectoris (MIAP) in both men and women, reports a recent study. Other indicators, including anthropometric measures, varied between sexes.

Researchers conducted a large-scale cross-sectional assessment of 22,509 participants (age ≥50 years, 13,057 women), most of whom (n=21,426) did not have MIAP. Participant data, including both biochemical and anthropometric indices of obesity, were retrieved from the 2010–2019 Korea National Health and Nutrition Survey.

MIAP was documented in 1,083 patients, yielding a prevalence rate of 4.81 percent. This tended to be higher in men than in women (6.57 percent vs 3.98 percent).

Binary logistic regression analysis found that total cholesterol was a significant and inverse predictor of MIAP in both sexes, though its effect was stronger in men (odds ratio [OR], 0.436, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 0.384–0.495; p<0.001) than in women (OR, 0.541, 95 percent CI, 0.475–0.618; p<0.001). Analyses had been adjusted for age, education, lifestyle, and medical history, among other confounders.

Creatinine (men: OR, 1.066, 95 percent CI, 1.019–1.116; p=0.006; women: OR, 1.107, 95 percent CI, 1.051–1.116; p<0.001) and platelet count (men: OR, 0.855, 95 percent CI, 0.754–0.9981; p=0.025; women: OR, 0.888, 95 percent CI, 0.791–0.998; p=0.046) were significant MIAP indicators shared between sexes.

Other such correlates varied according to sex. For instance, higher waist circumference and waist-to-height ratio (p=0.007 for both) indicated higher MIAP likelihood in men, while no such effect was reported in women. In contrast, systolic blood pressure was a significant and positive correlate of MIAP in women alone.