LONGITUDINAL ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN PLASMA VISCOSITY AND CARDIOVASCULARRISK-FACTORS IN A MIDDLE-AGED FRENCH POPULATION

A recent prospective study has suggested that increased plasma viscosi ty may be associated with higher risk of coronary heart disease. A lon gitudinal approach was used to investigate associations between plasma viscosity and conventional risk factors in an apparently healthy Fren ch population aged 45-56 years (637 men and 431 women) over a 2-year f ollow-up period. In univariate analysis, change in plasma viscosity wa s significantly related to changes in smoking status, systolic and dia stolic blood pressure, gamma glutamyl transferase (gamma GT), body mas s index and triglycerides only in men, and to changes in total cholest erol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and apolipoprotein (ap e) B in both sexes. Change in plasma viscosity was also significantly associated with changes in fibrinogen and hemoglobin levels in both se xes. No association was found with age, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol or apo A1 in both sexes, or with changes in smoking and m enopausal status in women. In multiple stepwise regression analysis, i ndependent determinants of change in plasma viscosity were changes in smoking status, systolic blood pressure, gamma GT; total cholesterol, fibrinogen and hemoglobin in men, and changes in fibrinogen and apo B in women. These results strengthen the hypothesis that increased plasm a viscosity may be one of the mechanisms' linking conventional risk fa ctors to the risk of cardiovascular disease and suggest that its decre ase may be obtained by appropriate life-style changes.