Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To explore the relationship between atherogenic index of plasma (AIP) and childhood asthma. METHODS: This retrospective study included 86 children with asthma admitted to the Changzhou Second People's Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University from July 2020 to August 2022 as the asthma group and 149 healthy children undergoing physical examination during the same period as the control group. Metabolic parameters including total cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and blood glucose, as well as general information of the children such as height, weight, body mass index, presence of specific dermatitis, history of inhalant allergen hypersensitivity, family history of asthma, and feeding history, were collected. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to study the relationship between AIP, triglycerides, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and asthma. The value of AIP, triglycerides, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol for predicting asthma was assessed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. RESULTS: The AIP and triglyceride levels in the asthma group were significantly higher than those in the control group, while high-density lipoprotein cholesterol was significantly lower (P<0.05). However, there was no significant difference in total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol between the two groups (P>0.05). Before and after adjusting for height, weight, presence of specific dermatitis, history of inhalant allergen hypersensitivity, family history of asthma, feeding method, and blood glucose, multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that AIP, triglycerides, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol were associated with asthma (P<0.05). ROC curve analysis showed that the optimal cutoff value for predicting asthma with AIP was -0.333, with a sensitivity of 80.2%, specificity of 55.0%, positive predictive value of 50.71%, and negative predictive value of 82.85%. The area under the curve (AUC) for AIP in predicting asthma was significantly higher than that for triglycerides (P=0.009), but there was no significant difference in AUC between AIP and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (P=0.686). CONCLUSIONS: AIP, triglycerides, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol are all associated with asthma. AIP has a higher value for predicting asthma than triglycerides and comparable value to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol.