LDL-cholesterol calculation formulas in patients with or without the metabolic syndrome

The present study compares the low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) values obtained by the Friedewald formula (LDL-F) with those derived from a new equation that uses only the concentrations of total cholesterol and triglycerides (LDL-A) in patients with the metabolic syndrome (MS) (n=118) and in age- and sex-matched controls (n=112). According to our results, LDL-A was correlated with LDL-F in the MS as well as in the control group (p for both <0.001). However, LDL-A slightly overestimated the LDL-C levels compared with LDL-F in the control group, possible due to the higher high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels in these individuals. Importantly, no difference was observed between the two equations in the MS group. LDL-A may be useful for the calculation of LDL-C levels when HDL-C level are not easily available.