HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit an electronic Letter to the Editor about this paper Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (9) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by El-Khairy, L. Articles by Ueland, P. M. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by El-Khairy, L. Articles by Ueland, P. M. Related Collections Nutrition Lipids, Lipoproteins, and Cardiovascular Risk Factors Endocrinology and Metabolism

Plasma Total Cysteine, Mortality, and Cardiovascular Disease Hospitalizations: The Hordaland Homocysteine Study

¹ LOCUS for Homocysteine and Related Vitamins and

² Department of Pharmacology, University of Bergen, N-5021 Bergen, Norway.

³ Department of Pharmacology, University of Oxford, Mansfield Rd., Oxford OX1 3QT, United Kingdom.

^aAddress correspondence to this author at: Section for Medical Statistics, Department of public Health and Primary Health Care, University of Bergen, Armauer Hansens Hus, N-5021 Bergen, Norway. Fax 47-55-974964; e-mail Lina.El-Khairy{at}smis.uib.no.

Background: We have previously reported a positive association between tHcy and mortality and cardiovascular disease (CVD) hospitalizations in the Hordaland Homocysteine Study cohort. Using the same data set, we assessed the relationship between plasma total cysteine (tCys) and mortality from all causes and from cardiovascular and noncardiovascular conditions, and the association between tCys and the risk of hospitalizations from CVD.

Methods: We measured plasma tCys in blood samples from 12 595 men and women 40–42 years of age and from 4766 men and women 65–67 years of age, collected as part of the Hordaland Homocysteine Study in the year 1992–1993. Follow-up data on mortality were collected through 1999. Data on CVD hospitalizations were collected from hospital records up to May 31, 1998.

Results: After a follow-up time of 6.6–7.6 years, there were a total of 610 deaths, of which 243 were cardiovascular deaths and 367 were noncardiovascular deaths. There was no association between tCys and all-cause, cardiovascular, or noncardiovascular mortality. When we used tCys values <247.6 µmol/L (lowest quartile) as the reference category, the adjusted mortality ratio (MR) for all-cause mortality at tCys concentrations of 247.6–270.79, 270.8–295.79, and 295.8 µmol/L (highest quartile) were 1.0, 0.9, and 1.0, respectively. The adjusted MRs for cardiovascular mortality were 1.0, 1.1, and 1.1, respectively. There were no associations between tCys and 1275 CVD hospitalizations, except that tCys was significantly associated with hospitalizations from coronary artery bypass grafting.

Conclusion: Plasma tCys is not associated with mortality or CVD hospitalizations.

The following articles in journals at HighWire Press have cited this article:

				Q. Han, M. Xu, L. Tang, X. Sun, N. Zhang, X. Tan, X. Tan, Y. Tan, and R. M. Hoffman Homogeneous Enzymatic Colorimetric Assay for Total Cysteine Clin. Chem., July 1, 2004; 50(7): 1229 - 1231. [Full Text] [PDF]