Influence of age and coronary artery disease on homocysteine levels in the young old compared with the old old and the oldest old.

A total of 172 elderly individuals, divided into case and control groups based on the diagnosis of coronary artery disease, underwent coronary angiography to investigate the influence of age and coronary artery disease on homocysteine levels. The subjects were divided into three age ranges: 65-74 years, 75-79 years, and 80 years and older. Continuous homocysteinemia was associated with a risk ratio for coronary artery disease of 1.07 for each micromol/L increase in homocysteine level. Hyperhomocysteinemia (values above 14 micromol/L) constituted an independent risk factor for coronary artery disease, with a risk ratio of 2.03. There was a progression of homocysteine levels between the young old and the oldest old only among the case group elderly. There was no difference among the control group elderly. There were no significant differences in vitamin levels. The rise in homocysteine levels from the young old to the oldest old may be considered not a normal pattern, but rather a pattern associated with coronary artery disease.