Serum sialic acid concentration predicts both coronary heart disease and stroke mortality: multivariate analysis including 54,385 men and women during 20.5 years follow-up.

To investigate the nature of the relationship between serum sialic acid concentration and cardiovascular mortality, the risks for coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke were assessed separately in 26,693 men and 27,692 women followed during 20.5 years. Diastolic blood pressure, total cholesterol and body mass index were used as covariates in a person-year-based Poisson model. Relative risks for CHD mortality associated with the highest sialic acid quartile was 1.76 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.58-1.96) in men and 1.94 (95% CI: 1.61-2.34) in women. Corresponding figures for stroke were 1.62 (95% CI: 1.26-2.09) and 1.68 (95% CI: 1.28-2.21) respectively. No significant patterns related to the age at entry was observed. For both genders, and both endpoints, diastolic blood pressure was associated with higher relative risk than sialic acid, and body mass index and serum total cholesterol were less predictive. Serum sialic acid concentration predicts both death from CHD and stroke in men and women independent of age. The biological foundation of this finding remains unclear.