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Background: Recent studies showed that lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] is a causal risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, whether Lp(a) modifies clinical risk assessment was not established., Objectives: This study was conducted to determine whether Lp(a) improves CVD risk prediction., Methods: In 1995, Lp(a) was measured in 826 men and women (age range, 45 to 84 years) from the general community. Incidence of CVD was recorded over 15 years of follow-up., Results: In models adjusted for Framingham Risk Score (FRS) and Reynolds Risk Score (RRS) variables, the hazard ratio (HR) for incident CVD was 1.37 per 1-SD higher Lp(a) level (SD = 32 mg/dl) and 2.37 when comparing the top fifth quintile with other quintiles. The addition of Lp(a) to the RRS increased the C-index by 0.016. Of the 502 subjects who remained free of CVD, 82 were correctly reclassified to a lower risk category and 49 were reclassified to a higher risk category (predicted 15-year categories: <7.5%, 7.5% to <15%, 15% to <30%, ≥30%) (p < 0.001). Of the 148 subjects who developed CVD, 18 were correctly reclassified to a higher risk category and 17 were reclassified to a lower risk category. In subjects at intermediate risk (15% to <30%), the net reclassification improvement afforded by Lp(a) was 22.5% for noncases, 17.1% for cases, and 39.6% overall. Allele-specific Lp(a) levels did not add to the predictive ability of the FRS or RRS or to Lp(a)., Conclusions: Elevated Lp(a) predicts 15-year CVD outcomes and improves CVD risk prediction. These findings suggest that Lp(a) levels may be used in risk assessment of subjects in the general community, particularly in intermediate-risk groups., (Copyright © 2014 American College of Cardiology Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: This study sought to assess the long-term predictive value and net reclassification for risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) of biomarkers reflecting oxidation-specific epitopes (OSEs)., Background: OSEs are immunogenic, proinflammatory, and proatherogenic. The long-term predictive value and net reclassification of OSEs for risk of CVD events are not known., Methods: Oxidized phospholipids on apolipoprotein B-100 (OxPL/apoB) and immunoglobulin (Ig)-G (IgG) and IgM autoantibodies to malondialdehyde-modified, low-density lipoprotein (MDA-LDL) and copper-oxidized LDL (Cu-OxLDL) were measured in 765 subjects in 1995 and 656 subjects in 2000 in the Bruneck study, representing 45- to 84-year-old men and women from the general community., Results: Over 15 years of follow-up, 138 subjects reached the primary endpoint of incident CVD (ischemic stroke, myocardial infarction, new-onset unstable angina, acute coronary interventions, and vascular death). In a multivariable Cox model, the highest tertile of OxPL/apoB was associated with higher risk of CVD (hazard ratio [HR]: 2.4; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.5 to 3.7) and stroke (HR: 3.6; 95% CI: 1.8 to 7.4) compared with the lowest tertile. IgG Cu-OxLDLs were associated with higher risk of CVD, whereas IgM MDA-LDLs were associated with lower risk. Using OxPL/apoB, IgG Cu-OxLDL, and IgM MDA-LDL variables, the area under the curve (AUC) for CVD risk prediction increased from 0.664 (95% CI: 0.629 to 0.697) to 0.705 (95% CI: 0.672 to 0.737) (p = 0.048). The net reclassification index (NRI) was 0.163 (p = 0.0044) and 0.332 (p < 0.0001) in all subjects (n = 765) and in subjects with intermediate risk (n = 305), respectively. Of 627 subjects who remained free of CVD, 108 were correctly reclassified to a lower risk category, and 83 were reclassified to a higher category (categories: 15-year risk <15%, 15% to 30%, >30%)., Conclusions: OSE biomarkers predict 15-year CVD and stroke outcomes and provide potential clinical utility by reclassifying a significant proportion of individuals into higher or lower risk categories after traditional risk assessment., (Copyright © 2012 American College of Cardiology Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)