The usefulness of circulating proprotein convertase subtilisin-kexin type 9 (PCSK9) as a risk marker of coronary heart disease in the general population remains unclear. In a nested case-control study in Norway, 1,488 incident myocardial infarctions were registered during 11.3 years of follow-up and compared with 3,819 controls. Compared with participants in the lowest quartile of PCSK9, myocardial infarction risk was 47% higher in the highest quartile after adjustment for age and sex. After additional adjustment for low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, the association was strongly attenuated. Thus, circulating PCSK9 does not contribute useful information in the assessment of myocardial infarction risk in the general population beyond the information provided by lipid measurements.
Keywords: BMI, body mass index; CI, confidence interval; CRP, C-reactive protein; CVD, cardiovascular disease; HDL-C, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol; LDL, low-density lipoprotein; LDL-C, LDL cholesterol; MI, myocardial infarction; OR, odds ratio; PCSK9 inflammation; PCSK9, proprotein convertase subtilisin-kexin type 9; epidemiology; hsCRP, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein; myocardial infarction; prospective study; risk factors.