Usefulness of Atherogenic Indices for Predicting High Values of Avoidable Lost Life Years Heart Age in 139,634 Spanish Workers

Abstract

Background: Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, accounting for one-third of all global deaths. The World Health Organization (WHO) asserts that prevention is the most effective strategy to combat CVD, emphasizing the need for non-invasive, low-cost tools to identify individuals at high risk of CVD. Atherogenic indices and heart age (HA) are valuable tools for assessing cardiovascular risk (CVR). The aim of our study was to evaluate the association between atherogenic indices and HA. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 139,634 Spanish workers to determine the association between three atherogenic indices and HA. ROC curves were employed to identify the cut-off values for the various atherogenic indices used to estimate high HA. The cut-off points, along with their sensitivity, specificity, and Youden index, were determined, and the area under the curve (AUC) was calculated. Results: As the values of the atherogenic indices increased, so did the risk of having elevated avoidable lost life years (ALLY) HA. In the ROC curve analysis, the AUC with the best results corresponded to the total cholesterol/HDL-c atherogenic index, with an AUC of 0.803 in females and 0.790 in males. The LDL-c/HDL-c atherogenic index showed an AUC of 0.780 in women and 0.750 in men, with Youden indices around 0.4. When analyzing the AUC of the atherogenic index for triglycerides/HDL-c, the results were 0.760 in women and 0.746 in men. Conclusions: Atherogenic indices and HA show a close relationship, with an increase in these indices leading to a rise in HA values. Raising patient awareness that as their CVR levels increase, so does their HA may be useful in achieving some benefit in reducing CVR.