Correlation between serum retinol binding protein 4 and lipid level in carotid artery atherosclerosis

  AIM  To investigate the relationships between serum retinol binding protein 4 (RBP4) levels and blood lipid in carotid artery atherosclerosis patients, so as to provide evidence for clinical diagnosis and treatment of atherosclerosis.

  METHODS  Included in this study were 236 patients in Affiliated Yan′an Hospital of Kunming Medical University. According to carotid artery middle membrane thickness (IMT) measured by ultrasound, 39 cases were assigned to IMT non-thickening group (IMT<1 mm) and 197 cases were assigned to IMT thickening group (IMT≥1 mm). Serum RBP4, total cholesterol, triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), apolipoprotein A1 (APOA1) and apolipoprotein B were determined. The data were analyzed by SPSS17.0 statistical software.

  RESULTS  Serum RBP4, TG and LDL-C in IMT thickening group were significantly higher than those in IMT non-thickening group (P<0.01), Logistics analysis showed that HDL-C, LDL-C and APOA1 were independent correlation factors of AS. Spearman single-factor correlation analysis showed that there was a positive correlation between serum RBP4 and TG, HDL-C and APOA1. There was linear regression between serum RBP4 and TG (RBP4=32.07 TG-15.30, P<0.05) and the complex correlation coefficient was R=0.745 (P<0.05). Moreover, there was a complex correlation between RBP4 and TG by stratified regression analysis. There was curve regression between serum RBP4, HDL-C and APOA1 (RBP4=-190.84HDL-C³+963.61HDL-C²-1493.03 HDL-C+746.06, P<0.05) and (RBP4=−342.66APOA1³+1571.76APOA1²−2372.02 APOA1+1212.93, P<0.05). The complex correlation coefficients were R=0.861 (P<0.05) and R=0.670 (P<0.05).

  CONCLUSION  There is a linear stratified relationship between RBP4 and TG in carotid atherosclerosis patients and there is curvilinear correlation between RBP4 and HDL-C and APOA1.