Introduction
Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The accurate assessment of risk factors is essential for early prevention and management. Traditionally, low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) has been the primary biomarker to evaluate ASCVD risk. However, newer evidence indicates that non-high-density-lipoprotein (non-HDL) cholesterol and apolipoprotein B (apoB) may provide more reliable risk assessment. Non-HDL cholesterol measures all atherogenic cholesterol fractions, including LDL, very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL), intermediate-density lipoprotein (IDL), and lipoprotein(a). Apolipoprotein B represents the total number of atherogenic lipoprotein particles because each atherogenic particle contains one apoB molecule.
Despite this knowledge, it is less clear whether non-HDL cholesterol or apoB is superior or if they provide complementary information about ASCVD risk.
