Nwagha 2010: AIP as Predictor of Cardiovascular Risk

Background

Dr. U.I. Nwagha and colleagues published this study in Clinica Chimica Acta (PMID: 21327136), validating the Atherogenic Index of Plasma (AIP) as a predictor of cardiovascular risk in patients with metabolic syndrome.

Study Design

Design: Cross-sectional study Population: Adults with and without metabolic syndrome Measurements: Lipid profile, AIP calculation [log(TG/HDL-C)], other cardiovascular risk markers Analysis: Correlation and predictive value assessment

Key Findings

AIP comparison:

Group	Mean AIP	P value
Metabolic syndrome	0.35 ± 0.21	—
Controls	0.08 ± 0.18	<0.001

AIP correlations with cardiovascular risk factors:

• •HOMA-IR: r = 0.48 (p < 0.001)
• •Waist circumference: r = 0.42 (p < 0.001)
• •BMI: r = 0.35 (p < 0.001)
• •Blood pressure: r = 0.28 (p < 0.01)

Key finding: AIP outperformed individual lipid parameters for identifying metabolic syndrome.

Mechanistic Insights

AIP integrates multiple metabolic derangements:

1. •Elevated TG reflects hepatic insulin resistance
2. •Low HDL reflects impaired reverse cholesterol transport
3. •The ratio captures small, dense LDL predominance
4. •Log transformation normalizes the distribution

Clinical Implications

AIP provides a simple, cost-effective cardiovascular risk marker from routine lipid testing. Particularly useful in resource-limited settings where advanced lipid testing is unavailable.

Metabolic Health Perspective

AIP is a core marker for metabolic optimization—it responds rapidly to carbohydrate restriction and captures the atherogenic dyslipidemia of insulin resistance. Target: <0.11 (low risk category).