Dysregulated serum lipid profile and atherosclerosis in untreated female TA patients: a PSM analysis

Abstract Objective Recent studies indicate that dyslipidemia could be a critical risk factor for cardiovascular disease in Takayasu arteritis (TA), but the relationship between dyslipidemia and the disease activity of TA itself is unclear. Methods To better understand the connection between serum lipid profiles and disease activity in TA patients, this study assessed the presence of dyslipidemia and atherosclerosis in untreated female patients. Fifty untreated female patients with Takayasu arteritis (median age 30 years) and 98 age- and BMI-matched healthy controls were enrolled. The lipid profile (TC, TG, HDL-C, LDL-C, ApoA1, ApoB, ApoE, LPa), inflammatory markers (CRP, ESR) and carotid atherosclerotic plaque frequency were evaluated. Results The levels of TG, nonHDL-C/HDL-C in TA patients were significantly higher than those in the control group, while the levels of TC, HDL-c, and ApoA1 were significantly lower than those in the control group. Spearman correlation analysis showed that CRP was positively correlated with ApoB, nonHDL-C/HDL-C, while negatively correlated with TG, HDL-c, and ApoA1. Besides, ESR was positively correlated with LDL-C, ApoB, nonHDL-C, nonHDL-C/HDL-C, but negatively correlated with ApoA1. Carotid atherosclerotic plaque was found in 8 (14.3%) patients. Multivariate regression analysis showed that the presence of atherosclerotic plaque was only related to age, but not inflammatory markers nor lipoproteins. Conclusions Overall, this study implies that untreated female TA patients have an obvious dysregulated serum lipid profile. Moreover, the disease activity of TA itself may be a risk factor for dyslipidemia, supporting the hypothesis that young TA patients may also have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease.