Association of the ApoB/ApoA-I ratio with stroke risk: Findings from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS)

Background and aims Studies on associations of apolipoprotein B (ApoB), apolipoprotein A-I (ApoA-I) and the ApoB/ApoA-I ratio with stroke risk are scarce. We aimed to prospectively examine the associations of the ApoB/ApoA-I ratio and other lipid profiles with the risk of stroke using data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS). Methods and results A total of 7318 participants without stroke at baseline in 2009 were included in the final analysis and followed for a median of 6.1 years. The serum lipid profiles including total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), ApoA-I, and ApoB were measured at baseline. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards models were used to evaluate the associations between these parameters and stroke risk. The ApoB/ApoA-I ratio was positively associated with incident stroke, yielding adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of 1.32 (95% CI: 1.09–1.59, P = 0.004). In comparison, ratio of ApoB and ApoA-I containing lipoproteins, the non-HDL-C/HDL-C ratio, possessed relatively weaker association with incident stroke (HR: 1.24, 95% CI: 1.01–1.52, P = 0.036). Furthermore, the risk associations for the ApoB/ApoA-I and non-HDL-C/HDL-C ratios were prominent among those participants aged >51, body mass index ≤23, or female. There were no significant associations of other lipids and their ratios with the stroke risk. Conclusions Higher ApoB/ApoA-I ratio was associated with an increased risk of stroke. Our findings suggest that the ApoB/ApoA-I ratio may serve as a better risk indicator of stroke than other lipid profiles and their ratios.