Changes in sodium-lithium countertransport correlate with changes in triglyceride levels and body mass index over 2 1/2 years of follow-up in utah

Sumamry

We have previously reported from a cross-sectional study that plasma total cholesterol, triglycerides, and HDL-C were significantly and independently correlated with Na⁺−Li⁺ countertransport. These original participants were rescreened 2 1/2 years later (range of 20–58 months), with lipid, blood pressure, and Na⁺−Li⁺ countertransport measurements from both visits on 906 normotensive adults. The correlation found between age-and sex-adjusted triglyceride levels and Na⁺−Li⁺ countertransport at visit 1 (r=0.34, p<0.0001) was reconfirmed at visit 2 (r=0.32, p<0.0001). The Na⁺−Li⁺ countertransport correlations with HDL-C (r=−0.11, p<0.01) and body mass index (r=0.24, p<0.0001) also remained at visit 2. After 30 months, there were significant increases of triglyceride, body mass index, blood pressure, and Na⁺−Li⁺ countertransport levels, and significant decreases of HDL-C and total cholesterol levels, after adjusting the changes in these variables between visit 2 and visit 1 for age, sex, time between the two visits, and the visit 1 level of the variable. Increases in triglycerides, cholesterol, and body mass index were significantly correlated with increases in Na⁺−Li⁺ countertransport (r=0.23, r=0.19, and r=0.21, respectively). The correlations of the lipid and lipoprotein changes with Na⁺−Li⁺ countertransport changes were independent of body mass index and blood pressure changes. We conclude that increasing plasma triglyceride levels and body mass index are associated with increasing Na⁺−Li⁺ countertransport levels in both cross-sectional and longitudinal data.