Correlation of Atherogenic Index of Plasma and Atherogenic Coefficient with Cardiovascular Disease Risk Assessed by ASCVD Risk Estimator

Introduction: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of approximately one-third of deaths worldwide. Absolute lipid parameters are inadequate in predicting CVD risk, and several lipid indices have been introduced, namely “Atherogenic index of plasma” (AIP) and “Atherogenic coefficient” (AC). Cardiovascular disease risk of a patient for the forthcoming 10 years can be calculated using the atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) Risk estimator. Though this method is currently accepted, certain drawbacks have been reported. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the correlation of AIP and AC with CVD risk estimation for the upcoming ten years calculated by ASCVD Risk estimator.
Methods: A cross-sectional observational, retrospective study was conducted by recruiting hundred and fifty-three patients. Sociodemographic data were collected through an interviewer-based questionnaire developed in-house. Total cholesterol, High-Density Lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, Low-Density Lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, and triglyceride levels were obtained from the lipid profile test results of the study participants. AIP and AC were calculated using formulas while 10-year ASCVD risk was calculated by the ASCVD Risk estimator. Correlations were analyzed using Pearson’s Correlation, and p<0.05 was considered significant.
Results: There was no significant correlation between AIP and 10-year ASCVD risk (p=0.880), and AC and 10-year ASCVD risk (p=0.576). However, a significant correlation was observed between AIP and AC (r=0.425, p=0.001).
Conclusions: AIP and AC were identified as potent CVD risk assessment tools. As the increase in 10-year ASCVD risk, AIP, and AC are associated with several CVD risk factors, CVD risk of patients should be assessed routinely, especially because the risk of most patients presenting with normal lipid profiles, may remain silent unless properly investigated using further laboratory investigations.