Determinants of serum lipoprotein(a) concentration in normolipidaemic individuals without clinical atherosclerosis.

Background: Lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)) is an independent risk factor for coronary artery diseases. The main objective of this work was to evaluate the determinants of plasma Lp(a) concentrations in normolipidaemic individuals.

Methods: Immunonephelometric quantification of Lp(a) was made in 177 volunteers. A multivariate analysis was employed to verify the influence of clinical and biochemical parameters on plasma Lp(a) concentration.

Results: The serum Lp(a) concentration in this population ranged from 0.7 to 40 nmol/L. The Lp(a) predictors were: sex (female), HDL2 triglyceride (negative) and LDL-cholesterol (positive).

Conclusions: The modulation of plasma Lp(a) concentration in this study points to pro-atherogenic lipoprotein associations.