Non-HDL cholesterol is a more superior predictor of small-dense LDL cholesterol than LDL cholesterol in Japanese subjects with TG levels <400 mg/dL

Aim: the japan atherosclerosis society (jas) guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of hyperlipidemia in japanese adults recommend using low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (ldl-c) calculated by friedewald formula (f_ldl-c) for subjects with triglyceride (tg) levels <400 mg/dl and nonhigh- density lipoprotein cholesterol (non-hdl-c) levels for subjects with tg levels ≥400 mg/dl. because small-dense ldl particles are more atherogenic than large ldl particles,we sought the better lipid parameter which was more reflective of the high small-dense ldl-c (sdldl-c) levels in subjects with tg levels <400 mg/dl. methods: this study included 769 japanese subjects who met our inclusion criteria and underwent an annual health examination,including sdldl-c analyses. results: the correlation coefficient of non-hdl-c for sdldl-c (r = 0.760) was significantly higher than that of f_ldl-c (r =0.601). the area under the curve (95% confidence interval) was 0.771 (0.731,0.811) for f_ldl-c and 0.871 (0.842,0.901) for non hdl-c,which showed significantly higher predictive value for more than fourth quartile value of sdldl-c (46 mg/dl). the optimal cut-off point of non-hdl-c was 158 mg/dl. even in subjects stratified by waist circumstance,homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance,tg,and f_ldl-c levels and non-hdl-c showed stronger relationships with sdldl-c than f_ldl-c. moreover,non-hdl-c showed a better relationship with sdldl-c than total cholesterol (tc),tc/hdl-c,and non-hdl-c/hdl-c. conclusion: our data suggested that non-hdl-c is superior to f_ldl-c and one of the reliable surrogate lipid markers of sdldl-c in japanese subjects with tg levels <400 mg/dl. © 2016 japan atherosclerosis society.