Coronary artery diseases (CAD) are increasing in recent years among Korean due to change of socioeconomic status. Even though death rates due to CAD has increased in Korea, few epidemiologic studies have been done about risk factors of CAD. We conducted a case-control study to analyze risk factors for CAD among Korean.

The case series comprised 166 patients with angiographically confirmed CAD, who were admitted to Division of Cardiology in Asan Medical Center. The controls were 137 persons composed of patients with normal coronary arteriogram or patients with normal myocardial SPECT for chest pain. We surveyed life style habits, measured anthropometric variables, and analyzed biochemical markers among CAD patients and controls.

In univariate analysis adjusted for age and body mass index (BMI), age, obesity, abdominal obesity, hypertension, low HDL-cholesterol, low apolipoprotein A1, and high lipoprotein (a) were associated with CAD in men and women. Smoking, diabetes, and hypercholesterolemia were associated with in men only. Exercise and high HDL-cholesterol were inversely associated with CAD both in men and women. In multivariate logistic regression analysis, smoking, abdominal obesity, low apolipoprotein A1, and high lipoprotein (a) were found as independent risk factors of CAD among men. Abdominal obesity, low apolipoprotein A1, and high lipoprotein (a) were found as independent risk factors among women.

These finding suggest cessation of smoking and weight control for abdominal obesity are important for prevention of CAD among Korean. The detection of low apolipoprotein A1 and high lipoprotein (a) could be useful for prevention of CAD.