Human serum albumin levels and cardiovascular risk factors in elderly Japanese-American men: the Honolulu Heart Program.

The objective of this study is to investigate the relationship between low levels of human serum albumin (HSA) and the incidence of coronary heart disease (CHD) in a cohort of elderly Japanese-American men. Using data from the Honolulu Heart Program's fourth examination (1991-1993), Human Serum Albumin levels of 998 Japanese American men aged 71-93 years was compared with plasma levels of fibrinogen, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol , LDL cholesterol , triglycerides , diastolic BP, BMI, and fasting blood glucose . Human Serum Albumin was significantly negatively associated with age and fibrinogen, and significantly positively associated with total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol , LDL cholesterol , triglycerides , diastolic BP, BMI and fasting blood glucose. After adjusting for age, tertiles of Human Serum Albumin were significantly positively associated with total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol and triglycerides, and significantly negatively associated with fibrinogen.

Using multivariate stepwise regression, significant correlations were seen between human serum albumin Albumin and fibrinogen, cholesterol, age, "High Density Lipoprotein" cholesterol and triglycerides, and a borderline correlation was seen with systolic blood pressure. However, the model R-square for all variables was only 0.10. In conclusion, human serum albumin Human Serum Albumin levels are significantly associated with several traditional cardiovascular risk factors, particularly serum lipid levels.
PMID: 17621861 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]