Prevention & lipidsCohort study
Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and cardiovascular risk in the absence of calcifications on computed tomography: the Western Denmark Heart Registry
- Cohort study
- registry-based
- Median age 54 (Q1-Q3 47-61) years; 61% women
Authors' conclusion
In symptomatic individuals with CAC = 0, elevated LDL-C is associated with higher risk of non-calcified plaque and with higher relative risk of future CHD events, most pronounced at age ≤45 years.
Study context
- Population
- Symptomatic individuals with CAC = 0 undergoing coronary CT angiography, Western Denmark Heart Registry, 2008–2021
- Participants
- 23,777 individuals
- Exposure
- Per 1 mmol/L higher low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C)
- Outcome
- Non-calcified plaque on coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) (aOR) and CHD events (aHR)
- Follow-up
- 7.1-year median
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Non-calcified plaque and CHD per 1 mmol/L higher LDL-C
Per 1 mmol/L higher LDL-CEstimate (95% CI)
non-calcified plaque, overall
aOR 1.21(1.16–1.27)
CHD, overall
aHR 1.28(1.13–1.46)
Per 1 mmol/L higher LDL-C, as printed
- Prevalence of non-calcified plaques
- 11%
- Coronary heart disease (CHD) events during follow-up
- 299 (1%)
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
| Outcome | Estimate | |
|---|---|---|
| Non-calcified plaque per 1 mmol/L higher LDL-C, by age — Age ≤45 | aOR 1.39 (CI 1.23–1.56) | |
| Non-calcified plaque per 1 mmol/L higher LDL-C, by age — Age 46-60 | aOR 1.22 (CI 1.14–1.31) | |
| Non-calcified plaque per 1 mmol/L higher LDL-C, by age — Age >60 | aOR 1.11 (CI 1.02–1.21) | |
| CHD per 1 mmol/L higher LDL-C, by age — Age ≤45 | aHR 1.37 (CI 1.04–1.82) | |
| CHD per 1 mmol/L higher LDL-C, by age — Age 46-60 | aHR 1.24 (CI 1.04–1.49) | |
| CHD per 1 mmol/L higher LDL-C, by age — Age >60 | aHR 1.26 (CI 1.00–1.60) | |
| 0.512Ratio (log scale) |
Original publication
Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and cardiovascular risk in the absence of calcifications on computed tomography: the Western Denmark Heart Registry. Eur Heart J. Published 9 August 2025. doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehaf497
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it