PREVALENCE OF ELEVATED LIPOPROTEIN (A) LEVELS IS NOT HIGHER IN SUBJECTS WITH ARTERIAL HYPERTENSION- EH-UH 2 STUDY

Objective: This study aims to determine the prevalence and clinical characteristics of elevated lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] levels in a general adult population. Our aim was to analyze whether the prevalence of elevated Lp(a) was higher in subjects with arterial hypertension (AH) than in normotensives (NT) as well as in participants with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Design and method: This cross-sectional study was part of the EH–UH 2 survey. Out of a total of 2021 participants included by random selection from the general adult population, this study involved 1181 participants. AH was defined as blood pressure >140/90 mmHg and/or taking antihypertensive drugs. CKD (CKD-EPI equation) was defined as eGFR <60 mL/min/1.73 m2, and elevated Lp(a) as values >125 nmol/L according to the cutoff value determined by guidelines. Results: The prevalence of elevated Lp(a) levels was 12.3%, being higher in women than in men (13.5% vs. 10.5%; p > 0.05). We failed to find a difference between AH and normotensives (NT) (12.0% vs. 12.8%, p > 0.05). No difference in the prevalence of elevated Lp(a) was found between CKD and non-CKD patients (10.3% vs. 14.2%, p > 0.05). Across CKD stages, no significant variation in prevalence was detected. However, a notable upward trend in the prevalence of elevated Lp(a) levels was observed with advancing age. Conclusions: The prevalence of elevated Lp(a) in our study was lower than reported in other studies, which is related to the cutoff values used. No difference in the prevalence was found between AH and NT subjects. We did not find any difference between CKD and non-CKD patients and no trend of higher prevalence with increasing CKD stages. This intriguing finding emphasizes the need for further studies, among others, using a more appropriate equation for eGFR in the older population with a very high prevalence of obesity.