Background: Lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2) activity has been associated with the risk of clinical cardiovascular events.
Objectives: In this study, we aimed to investigate whether the activity of Lp-PLA2 presents a risk for subclinical atherosclerosis in young patients with premature ovarian failure (POF).
Methods: Consecutive patients with clinical and biochemical evidence of naïve POF (n = 66) in January and February 2018 and age-matched healthy controls (n = 73) were enrolled. Lp-PLA2 activity, fibrinogen concentrations, high- sensitivity C-reactive protein (Hs-CRP) levels, and carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) were measured in all participants.
Results: Plasma Lp-PLA2 activity (24.6 ± 3.2 nmol/mL vs. 18.6 ± 1.6 nmol/mL; p < 0.001), mean Hs-CRP (0.620 ± 0.26 mg/dL vs. 0.450 ± 0.28 mg/dL; p < 0.001) and fibrinogen (0.310 ± 0.12 g/dL vs. 0.24 ± 0.11 g/dL; p < 0.001) levels were significantly higher in the patients with POF than control subjects. Mean CIMT was significantly higher in the POF patients than in controls (0.499 ± 0.122 mm vs. 0.323 ± 0.079 mm; p < 0.001). There was a possitive and strong correlation between CIMT and Lp-PLA2 activity (r = 0.548; 95% CI 0.445-0.644; p < 0.001) and a weak correlation Hs-CRP (r = 0.228, 95% CI 0.060-0.398; p = 0.007). In multivariate analysis, Lp-PLA2 activity (B = 1.456, 95% CI 0.908-2.003; p < 0.001) and 17β-E2 (B = -0.077, 95% CI -0.131 - -0.023; p = 0.006) were found to be independently associated with CIMT (R2 = 0.46).
Conclusions: The present study showed that mean CIMT and Lp-PLA2 activity were significantly higher in POF subjects than control subjects. Moreover, Lp-PLA2 activity and 17β-E2 levels were independently associated with CIMT in young POF patients.
Keywords: Atherosclerosis; High-sensitivity C-reactive protein; Inflammation; Lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2; Premature ovarian failure.