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This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Supplement Data All Versions of this Article: clinchem.2007.093468v1 54/1/124    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in 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 Web of Science (1) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Khuseyinova, N. Articles by Koenig, W. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Khuseyinova, N. Articles by Koenig, W. Related Collections Lipids, Lipoproteins, and Cardiovascular Risk Factors

Variability of Serial Lipoprotein-Associated Phospholipase A₂ Measurements in Post–Myocardial Infarction Patients: Results from the AIRGENE Study Center Augsburg

¹ Department of Internal Medicine II—Cardiology, University of Ulm Medical Center, Ulm, Germany; ² Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Department of Statistics, Munich, Germany; ³ National Research Center for Environment and Health, Institute of Epidemiology, Neuherberg, Germany.

^aAddress correspondence to this author at: Department of Internal Medicine II—Cardiology, University of Ulm Medical Center, Robert-Koch Str. 8, D-89081 Ulm, Germany. Fax 49-731-500-45021; e-mail wolfgang.koenig{at}uniklinik-ulm.de.

Background: Of the numerous emerging biomarkers for coronary heart disease (CHD), lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A₂ (Lp-PLA₂), an enzyme involved in lipid metabolism and inflammatory pathways, seems to be a promising candidate. Implementation of Lp-PLA₂ measurement into clinical practice, however, requires data on the reliability of such measurements.

Methods: We measured Lp-PLA₂ concentrations by ELISA in blood samples drawn from 200 post–myocardial infarction patients (39–76 years) at 6 monthly intervals between May 2003 and February 2004, for a total of 1143 samples. We estimated analytical, within-individual, and between-individual variation, the critical difference, and the intraclass correlation coefficient of reliability (ICC) to assess the reliability of serial Lp-PLA₂ measurements.

Results: The mean (SD) plasma Lp-PLA₂ concentration for the study participants was 188.7 (41.8) µg/L, with no significant difference between men and women. The analytical CV for Lp-PLA₂ was 4.4%, the within-individual biological CV was 15%, and the between-individual CV was 22%. The ICC was 0.66. An important part of the total variation in plasma Lp-PLA₂ concentration was explained by the between-individual variation (as a percentage of the total variance, 66.1%), whereas the within-individual variance was 31.3%. The analytical variance was as low as 2.6%.

Conclusions: Between-individual variation in Lp-PLA₂ concentration was substantially greater than within-individual variation. In general, our data demonstrate considerable stability and good reproducibility of serial Lp-PLA₂ measurements, results that compared favorably with those for the more commonly measured lipid markers.

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

				J. P. McConnell and A. S. Jaffe Variability of Lipoprotein-Associated Phospholipase A2 Measurements Clin. Chem., May 1, 2008; 54(5): 932 - 933. [Full Text] [PDF]