LDL size and subclasses in patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm.

Since the type of dyslipidemia in patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is still insufficiently defined, we measured plasma lipids and analyzed LDL size and subclasses by gradient gel electrophoresis in 30 male patients (69+/-6 years, BMI: 27+/-3) with newly diagnosed AAA and in 26 age- and BMI-matched male healthy controls. Patients with AAA had lower HDL-cholesterol (p<.0001), increased triglycerides (p=.0002) and smaller LDL size (p<.0001) as well as increased levels of total small, dense LDL (p=.0210) in relation to controls. Multivariate analysis also showed that small LDL size was independently associated with the presence of AAA (p=.0350). Increased levels of small, dense LDL may therefore represent a common feature in patients with AAA.