LAUSR

Background Accelerated atherosclerosis has become the main cause of morbidity in patients with autoimmune diseases such as RA and SLE [1]. The Cholesterol/High-density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (TC/HDL-C) ratio is a high discriminatory power index for coronary heart disease. A high TC/HDL-C ratio has been intensively used as a predictor of CVDs [2]. EULAR Task Force recommended that the TC/HDL-C ratio should be regarded as an important prognostic indicator for future cardiovascular disease (CVD) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) [3]. However, the relationship between the TC/HDL-C ratio and disease activity of Takayasu arteritis (TAK) is unclear. Objectives To investigate changes in the TC/HDL-C ratio and to evaluate the relationship between the TC/HDL-C ratio and disease activity of TAK. Methods A retrospective study of 103 patients with TAK and 73 healthy controls was performed. We compared the triglyceride (TG), TC, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), HDL-C and TC/HDL-C ratio between patients and healthy controls, and we analyzed correlations between the lipid parameters and indexes of TAK activity. A ROC curve was used to determine the predictive value of TC/HDL-C ratio in patients group. Results The TG level was higher in patients with TAK than in the controls (p=0.000). The TC, LDL-C, and HDL-C levels were significantly lower in patients with TAK than in the controls (p=0.000, p=0.000, and p=0.000, respectively). The HDL-C level was significantly lower in the active TAK group than in the inactive TAK group (p=0.005). The TC/HDL-C ratio was significantly increased in patients with disease activity (p=0.001), and it exhibited a positive relationship with the high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level (r=0.234, p=0.003) and Kerr score (r=0.219, p=0.031). In addition, the TC/HDL-C ratio of 3.698 was determined as a predictive cut-off value of TAK (sensitivity 61.0%, specificity 78.6%, area under the curve=0.743) (Figure 1). Conclusions For the first time, we showed that serum levels of TC, LDL-C, and HDL-C were significantly lower in patients with TAK, and the TC/HDL-C ratio has a positive relationship with the disease activity of TAK, suggesting that the TC/HDL-C ratio may be a potential indicator for monitoring the disease activity of patients with TAK. References Symmons DP, Gabriel SE: Epidemiology of CVD in rheumatic disease, with a focus on RA and SLE. Nat Rev Rheumatol 2011, 7(7):399–408. Zhou Q, Wu J, Tang J, Wang JJ, Lu CH, Wang PX: Beneficial Effect of Higher Dietary Fiber Intake on Plasma HDL-C and TC/HDL-C Ratio among Chinese Rural-to-Urban Migrant Workers. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2015, 12(5):4726–4738. Peters MJ, Symmons DP, McCarey D, Dijkmans BA, Nicola P, Kvien TK, McInnes IB, Haentzschel H, Gonzalez-Gay MA, Provan S et al: EULAR evidence-based recommendations for cardiovascular risk management in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and other forms of inflammatory arthritis. Ann Rheum Dis 2010, 69(2):325–331. Disclosure of Interest None declared