The EPIC-Norfolk Study
Serum levels of mannose-binding lectin and the risk of future coronary artery disease in apparently healthy men and women.
Arteriosclerosis, thrombosis, and vascular biology 2006 ; 26: 2345-50.
Keller TT, van Leuven SI, Meuwese MC, Wareham NJ, Luben R, Stroes ES, Hack CE, Levi M, Khaw KT, and Boekholdt SM
DOI : 10.1161/01.ATV.0000240517.69201.77
PubMed ID : 16902159
PMCID : 0
Abstract
To determine the association between serum levels of mannose-binding lectin (MBL) and the risk of future coronary artery disease (CAD) in apparently healthy men and women.
We performed a prospective case-control study among apparently healthy men and women nested in the EPIC-Norfolk cohort. Baseline concentrations of MBL were measured in serum samples of 946 patients who experienced a myocardial infarction or died of CAD during follow-up, and 1799 matched controls who remained free of CAD. Among men, median MBL levels were 1.63 ng/mL (interquartile range [IQR]: 0.59 to 3.80) in cases and 1.20 ng/mL (IQR: 0.48 to 3.37) in controls. Among women, median MBL levels were 1.02 ng/mL (IQR: 0.43 to 2.95) in cases and 1.01 ng/mL (IQR: 0.43 to 2.94) in controls. After adjustment, the odds ratio in men for future CAD was 1.59 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.09 to 2.32; P for linearity=0.01) for those in the highest quartile compared with those in the lowest quartile. In women no such relation was observed.
Elevated levels of MBL are associated with an increased risk of future CAD in apparently healthy men but not in women. The sex difference merits further exploration.