Takayasu Arteritis with Dyslipidemia Increases Risk of Aneurysm

Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) has been associated with the occurrence of abdominal aortic aneurysm. However, whether LDL-C elevation associated with aneurysms in large vessel vasculitis is unknown. The aim of this study is to investigate the clinical and laboratory features of Takayasu arteritis (TAK) and explore the risk factors that associated with aneurysm in these patients. This retrospective study compared the clinical manifestations, laboratory parameters, and imaging results of 103 TAK patients with or without aneurysms and analyzed the risk factors of aneurysm formation. 20.4% of TAK patients were found to have aneurysms. The LDL-C levels was higher in the aneurysm group than in the non-aneurysm group (2.9 ± 0.9 mmol/l vs. 2.4 ± 0.9 mmol/l, p = 0.032). Elevated serum LDL-C levels increased the risk of aneurysm by 5.8-fold (p = 0.021, odds ratio [OR] = 5.767, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.302–25.543), and the cutoff value of level of serum LDL-C was 3.08 mmol/l. The risk of aneurysm was 4.2-fold higher in patients with disease duration >5 years (p = 0.042, OR = 4.237, 95% CI: 1.055–17.023), and 2.9-fold higher when an elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate was present (p = 0.077, OR = 2.851, 95% CI: 0.891–9.115). In this study, elevated LDL-C levels increased the risk of developing aneurysms in patients with TAK.