Is triglyceride/HDL ratio a reliable screening test for assessment of atherosclerotic risk in patients with chronic inflammatory disease?

Objective: The term chronic inflammatory disease (CID) refers to a category of inflammatory diseases that includes Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and familial Mediterranean fever (FMF). The incidence of adverse cardiovascular events is greater among patients with CID, though they may not have conventional atherosclerotic risk factors. Endothelial dysfunction is one of the underlying fundamental mechanisms that trigger development of atherosclerotic alterations in arteries, and flow-mediated dilatation (FMD) is a noninvasive method to determine endothelial dysfunction. Recent studies have shown a relationship between high triglyceride high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (TG/HDL-C) ratio and coronary atherosclerosis. Many studies have demonstrated that patients with CID have lower FMD values compared to healthy population, indicating endothelial dysfunction. However TG/HDL ratio and its relationship to FMD in patients with CID has not been investigated. The present study investigated whether TG/HDL ratio in CID patients differs from that of healthy population, and its relationship to FMD in patients with CID.

Methods: A total of 58 patients with CID and a group of 58 healthy volunteer individuals were enrolled in the study. FMD measurements were taken with high resolution ultrasound (US), and TG/HDL ratios were calculated.

Results: Patients with CID had significantly higher TG/HDL-C ratio (2.5 [2.2-2.8] vs 2.3 [2.1-2.5]; p=0.03) and lower FMD values (5.2 [4.2-6.3] vs 6.7 [6.3-9.7]; p<0.001), compared to healthy group, and a negative correlation was found between FMD levels and TG/HDL ratio of the study population.

Conclusion: Higher TG/HDL ratio and lower FMD values found in CID patients may reflect increased atherosclerotic risk.