Association of Serum Apolipoprotein B Levels with Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation: A Case-Control Study

Abstract

Abstract Objective: Despite their fundamental importance, to date, critical evaluation of APOB in relation to paroxysmal atrial fibrillation(AF) has been limited. This study aimed to determine the association between APOB and paroxysmal AF by gender in the Chinese population. Methods: This was a case-control study of 320 paroxysmal AF patients and 640 age-, sex-matched (1:1) non-AF patients with sinus rhythm at our institution between January 2019 to September 2021. T-tests, Mann-Whitney tests, Chi-square analysis, and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to investigate the intergroup comparisons. Logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the relationship between ABOB and paroxysmal AF. Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves were constructed to show the predictive performance. Spearman correlation tests were used to explore the correlation between APOB and metabolic factors. Results: Multivariate regression analysis showed an independent negative correlation between APOB levels and paroxysmal AF (OR=0.271, 95% CI: 0.121-0.606, P＜0.05) in men and women, regardless of statin reception. ROC curve showed the most optimal cut-off value of the APOB level in males and females was 0.855 g/L and 0.895 g/L, respectively. Spearman correlation analysis indicated APOB was positively associated with total cholesterol (TC) ( r=0.818), LDL-C (r= 0.863), apolipoprotein A1(APOA1) (r=0.178), and albumin (ALB) (r=0.249) in patients with paroxysmal AF. Conclusion: The principal findings of this study imply an independent negative correlation between APOB and paroxysmal AF in men and women among the Chinese population. Further investigation is needed to determine their causalities and potential mechanisms.