Fasting triglyceride is a significant risk factor for coronary artery disease in middle-aged Japanese men - Results from a 10-year cohort study

Background: It has been well established that dyslipidemia is a significant risk factor for coronary artery disease (CAD), however, the association between fasting triglyceride (TG) and the occurrence of CAD is controversial. The objective of this study was to elucidate the relationship between fasting TG and CAD in middle-aged Japanese men. Methods and Results: A cohort study of 6,966 middle-aged Japanese men (mean±SD: 46.6±5.2 years) with a 10-year follow-up period was conducted to identify risk factors for the occurrence of CAD. One hundred and eleven cases of CAD were identified during the follow up. The Cox proportional hazard model was used to identify the independent risk factors for CAD. Adjustment was made for variables including age, body mass index, smoking habit, alcohol intake, duration of sleeping, systolic blood pressure, uric acid, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, fasting plasma glucose, and TG. Fasting TG was identified as an independent risk factor for CAD. The adjusted hazard ratio of TG for CAD was 3.07 (95% confidence interval: 1.01-9.35, p<0.05). Additionally, a serum TG concentration level greater than 78 mg/dl was a significant risk for CAD. Conclusions: By using the long term follow-up data of the study of middle-aged Japanese men, fasting TG was identified to be a significant risk factor for CAD.