Haemostatic parameters related to lipids and adhesion molecules

Several components of blood, e.g. lipids, coagulation and fibrinolytic fact ors, are thought to be important risk factors in cardiovascular diseases. T he aim of this study was to correlate these risk factors and the soluble ad hesion proteins, soluble P-selection (sP-selectin) and soluble vascular cel l adhesion molecule (sVCAM-1), in healthy men and women as well as to unrav el any effects of smoking. One hundred and forty-two fasting men (median ag e 36 years) including 39 smokers, and 124 women (median age 34 years) inclu ding 35 smokers, were tested between 0800 h and 1000 h. Fibrinogen correlat ed positively with white blood cells (WBC) (r = 0.25), prothrombin fragment 1.2 (F1.2) (r = 0.21), cholesterol (r = 0.27), beta-thromboglobulin (r = 0 .29), Factor VII clotting activity (FVIIc) (r = 0.27) (all P < 0.0001), tis sue plasminogen activator antigen (t-PAag) (r = 0.22, P < 0.0005), plasmino gen activator inhibitor-1 antigen (PAI-Zag) (r = 0.20) and VCAM-1 (r = 0.19 ) (both P < 0.002). Cholesterol and triacylglycerol (TG) correlated positiv ely with t-PA antigen (t-PAag) (r = 0.36 and r = 0.38), PAI-1 antigen (PAI- lag) (r = 0.35 and r = 0.50), P-selectin (r = 0.26 and r = 0.27) tall P < 0 .0001) and WBC (r = 0.17, P < 0.007 and r = 0.18, P < 0.004). Cholesterol c orrelated also with F1.2 (r = 0.29) and TG (r = 0.44) (P < 0.0001). in addi tion to cholesterol and TG, sP-selectin correlated postively with PAI-lag ( r = 0.39), t-PAag (r = 0.27) and WBC (r = 0.25) tall P < 0.0001). Comparing the various test parameters in men and women, it was found that women had significantly higher levels of F 1.2 and high-density lipoprotein-cholester ol than men, whereas men had higher levels of t-PAag, PAI-lag and P-selecti n than women. Smoking was associated with a rise in several of the test par ameters. It can be concluded that there are correlations between several ri sk factors. Of particular interest is the positive correlation between sP-s electin and a number of established risk factors of cardiovascular diseases . (C) 1999 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.