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 va scular diseases. However, influences of homocysteine to the extent of coron ary 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. Seven ty 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 greater than or eq ual to 3, n = 35) and low-risk (risk factor <3, n = 35) groups. Linear regr ession analysis revealed that levels of serum homocysteine were only signif icantly 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 coul d 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 o f homocysteine correlated with the extent of coronary atherosclerosis only among patients with low cardiovascular risk profiles. (C) 2000 by Excerpta Medica, Inc.