SERUM TOTAL SIALIC-ACID, A REPUTED CARDIOVASCULAR RISK FACTOR, AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO LIPIDS, PLASMA FASTING INSULIN, BLOOD-PRESSURE AND BODY-MASS INDEX IN NORMAL INDIVIDUALS

1. Serum sialic acid is a reputed cardiovascular risk factor, but the reason why this is so is not clear. We therefore studied its relations hip with other known cardiovascular risk factors (particularly those a ssociated with insulin resistance) in 100 healthy young subjects (54 f emales and 46 males, age 20.7 +/- 0.89 years). 2. There was a signific ant univariate correlation between serum total sialic acid and fasting plasma insulin. Serum total sialic acid also correlated with fasting plasma glucose concentration and serum cholesterol and triacylglycerol .3. In females there was a strong univariate correlation between serum total sialic acid and plasma fasting insulin and glucose concentratio ns, although in males there was a weaker univariate correlation betwee n serum total sialic acid and fasting plasma glucose and the insulin r esistance index. in addition, serum total sialic acid significantly co rrelated with systolic blood pressure, fasting serum cholesterol and t riacylglycerol concentrations and body mass index in the females. In m ales serum total sialic acid significantly positively correlated with fasting serum cholesterol and triacylglycerol concentrations, and corr elated inversely with the hip/waist ratio. 4. In multiple regression a nalysis of the 100 subjects serum total sialic acid correlated indepen dently with fasting serum cholesterol, glucose and also plasma insulin concentrations. In females serum total sialic acid independently corr elated with systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and serum cholester ol and fasting plasma glucose concentrations, although there was no si gnificant independent correlation between serum total sialic acid and any of the other variables in the males.