A High Level of Calculated Small Dense Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol Is an Independent Risk Factor for the Progression of Renal Impairment.

Authors

Hiroki Aida, Marenao Tanaka, Tatsuya Sato, Koki Abe, Keitaro Nishizawa, Wataru Kawaharata, Rie Matsumori, Itaru Hosaka, Yukinori Akiyama, Kei Nakata, Hidemichi Kouzu, Naoya Yama, Nagisa Hanawa, Masato Furuhashi

Published in

Circulation journal : official journal of the Japanese Circulation Society. Jun 26, 2026. Epub Jun 26, 2026.

Abstract

Beyond low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), small dense LDL-C (sdLDL-C) is a residual risk factor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. However, whether sdLDL-C levels can predict the development of chronic kidney disease remains unclear.
We investigated the association between the sdLDL-C level calculated using Sampson's equation and the progression of renal impairment in 16,814 Japanese individuals (10,806 men, 6,008 women; mean age: 47 years) who underwent annual health checkups. Participants were divided into 4 groups according to high (H) or low (L) sdLDL-C and LDL-C levels. Over a 10-year follow-up period, 2,533 participants progressed renal impairment, defined as an estimated glomerular filtration rate <60 mL/min/1.73 m²or positive for urine protein. Cox proportional hazards model with a restricted cubic spline after adjustment for confounders showed a gradual increase in the hazard ratio (HR) for renal impairment with high levels of sdLDL-C. Compared with the L-sdLDL-C/L-LDL-C group (reference) the adjusted HRs for renal impairment were significantly higher in the H-sdLDL-C/H-LDL-C and H-sdLDL-C/L-LDL-C groups (1.13 [95% confidence interval 1.03-1.25] and 1.15 [95% confidence interval 1.03-1.29], respectively). The addition of a high sdLDL-C level (≥35.7 mg/dL) to traditional risk factors significantly improved the discriminatory capacity for renal impairment.
A high calculated sdLDL-C level was an independent predictor for the progression of renal impairment regardless of LDL-C level in a general Japanese population.

PMID:
42366065
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 29 Jun 2026.

Read full publication at:
Please sign in to see all details.

Stats

1-terrible, 9-excellent. How would you rate this publication? Sign in in to submit your rating.

Post a comment

You need to be signed in to post comments. You can sign in here.

Comments

There are no comments yet.