Correlation of homocysteine levels with the extent of coronary atherosclerosis in patients with low cardiovascular risk profiles

Elevation of homocysteine is now known as an independent risk factor for vascular diseases. However, influences of homocysteine to the extent of coronary atherosclerosis in patients with different coronary risk profiles have not been studied. In this study, we used angiographic 'diffuse score' and 'clinical vessel score' to evaluate the extent of coronary atherosclerosis, and examined the correlation between levels of serum total homocysteine and angiographic scores among patients with high- and low-risk profiles. Seventy consecutive patients (58 men and 12 women, mean age 50 years) undergoing selective coronary angiography for the first time were recruited for this study. Patients were divided into high-risk (risk factor ≥3, n = 35) and low-risk (risk factor <3, n = 35) groups. Linear regression analysis revealed that levels of serum homocysteine were only significantly correlated with diffuse (r = 0.217, p = 0.007) and clinical vessel (r = 0.078, p = 0.037) scores in low-risk patients. These correlations could not be observed in diffuse (r = 0.070, p = 0.319) and clinical vessel (r = -0.001, p = 0.970) scores in the high-risk group. In conclusion, levels of homocysteine correlated with the extent of coronary atherosclerosis only among patients with low cardiovascular risk profiles. Copyright (C) 2000 Excerpta Medica Inc.