Lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 as a novel risk marker for cardiovascular disease: a systematic review of the literature.

We sought to critically assess the role of lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A(2) (Lp-PLA(2)) in the prediction of cardiovascular events in primary and secondary prevention settings. The inclusion criteria for our study included population-based epidemiologic studies and the presence of clinical outcomes of interest, including atherosclerotic disease, coronary events, stroke, and cardiovascular death. Studies that lacked clinical outcomes or that involved animals were excluded. We included primary and secondary prevention studies of subjects in all ethnic groups and of either sex, with no age limitation. We searched MEDLINE, Google Scholar, and the Cochrane Library for studies with publication dates from January 1970 through July 2009, and we searched major cardiology meeting abstracts from 2000 through 2009. From each study, we used predictive ability-including relative risk, hazard ratio, odds ratio, and prevalence of high Lp-PLA(2) levels, with adjustment-along with baseline population characteristics.Of 33 studies that met our inclusion criteria, 30 showed a significant association between Lp-PLA(2) and cardiovascular events. Most of the studies had been adjusted for major Framingham risk factors and other variables that might influence the effect under question. After multivariate adjustments in cohort and nested case-control studies, increased levels of Lp-PLA(2) remained a significant predictor of cardiovascular events. The available body of evidence suggests that Lp-PLA(2) is a reliable marker of risk for cardiovascular events.