Biological cardiovascular risk factors and plasma homocysteine levels in the general Dutch population

Abstract

A raised plasma total homocysteine (P-tHcy) concentration is considered to be a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases (CVD) [ [1] Boushey C.J. Beresford S.A. Omenn G.S. Motulsky A.G. A quantitative assessment of plasma homocysteine as a risk factor for vascular disease. Probable benefits of increasing folic acid intakes. J. Am. Med. Assoc. 1995; 274: 1049-1057 Crossref PubMed Scopus (3495) Google Scholar ]. However, evidence provided by prospective studies is weaker than that offered by case-control and cross-sectional studies [ [2] Christen W.G. Ajani U.A. Glynn R.J. Hennekens C.H. Blood levels of homocysteine and increased risks of cardiovascular disease: causal or casual. Arch. Intern. Med. 2000; 160: 422-434 Crossref PubMed Scopus (309) Google Scholar ]. In addition, a genetic defect resulting in elevated P-tHcy concentrations, is not consistently associated with the risk for CVD [ [3] Brattstrom L. Common mutation in the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase gene offers no support for mild hyperhomocysteinemia being a causal risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Circulation. 1997; 96 (Letter): 3805-3807 PubMed Google Scholar ]. This has raised the question whether the observed association between the P-tHcy concentration and CVD can be attributed to confounding by biological CVD risk factors [ 2 Christen W.G. Ajani U.A. Glynn R.J. Hennekens C.H. Blood levels of homocysteine and increased risks of cardiovascular disease: causal or casual. Arch. Intern. Med. 2000; 160: 422-434 Crossref PubMed Scopus (309) Google Scholar , 3 Brattstrom L. Common mutation in the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase gene offers no support for mild hyperhomocysteinemia being a causal risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Circulation. 1997; 96 (Letter): 3805-3807 PubMed Google Scholar ]. In this study, we describe the association between cholesterol (total and HDL), blood pressure (diastolic and systolic) and waist circumference and the P-tHcy concentration.