1. Plasma levels of the oxyphytosterol 7α-hydroxycampesterol are associated with cardiovascular events
- Author
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Ulrich Laufs, Sven Meyer, Paul Christian Schulze, Hans-F. Schött, Gunnar H. Heine, Sarah Seiler-Mußler, Bruno Scheller, Adam M. Zawada, Oliver Weingärtner, Anja Kerksiek, Dieter Lütjohann, Ursula Ulbricht, Arne Fuhrmann, Danilo Fliser, Bodo Cremers, Silvia Friedrichs, and Michael Böhm
- Subjects
Male ,0301 basic medicine ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Time Factors ,Campesterol ,030204 cardiovascular system & hematology ,Gastroenterology ,03 medical and health sciences ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,0302 clinical medicine ,Risk Factors ,Interquartile range ,Germany ,Internal medicine ,medicine ,Humans ,Prospective Studies ,Myocardial infarction ,Aged ,Cholesterol ,business.industry ,Vascular disease ,Hazard ratio ,Phytosterols ,Plasma levels ,Middle Aged ,Prognosis ,medicine.disease ,Confidence interval ,030104 developmental biology ,chemistry ,Cardiovascular Diseases ,Female ,Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine ,business ,Biomarkers - Abstract
Background and aims There are safety issues regarding plant sterol ester-enriched functional food. Oxidized plant sterols, also called oxyphytosterols, are supposed to contribute to plant sterol atherogenicity. This study aimed to analyze associations of plasma oxyphytosterol levels with cardiovascular events. Methods Plasma cholesterol was measured by gas chromatography-flame ionization detection. Plasma campesterol and sitosterol and their 7-oxygenated metabolites were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass selective detection. Results In 376 patients admitted for elective coronary angiography, who were not on lipid-lowering drugs, 82 cardiovascular events occurred during a follow-up period of 4.2 ± 1.8 years. Patients with cardiovascular events had significantly higher 7α-hydroxycampesterol plasma levels (median, 0.46; [interquartile range (IQR) 0.22–0.81] nmol/L vs. median, 0.25 [IQR, 0.17–0.61] nmol/L; p = 0.003) and 7α-hydroxycampesterol-to-cholesterol ratios (median 0.08 [IQR, 0.04–0.14] nmol/mmol vs. median, 0.05 [IQR 0.03–0.11] nmol/mmol; p = 0.005) than controls without such events. Patients above the median were characterized by higher cumulative event rates in Kaplan-Meier-analysis (Logrank-test p = 0.084 and p = 0.025) for absolute and cholesterol corrected 7α-hydroxycampesterol, respectively. After adjustment for influencing factors and related lipids, the hazard ratios per one standard deviation of the log-transformed variables (HR) were 1.19 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.95–1.48], p = 0.132 for 7α-hydroxycampesterol and HR, 1.18 [95% CI, 0.94–1.48], p = 0.154 for 7α-hydroxycampesterol-to-cholesterol ratio. None of the other investigated oxyphytosterols showed an association with cardiovascular events. Conclusions In patients not on lipid-lowering drugs, absolute plasma levels of 7α-hydroxycampesterol and their ratios to cholesterol are associated with cardiovascular events. Further research is required to elucidate the role of OPS in cardiovascular diseases.
- Published
- 2018