Increases in Lp(a) During Acute Phase of COVID-19 is Linked to Venous Thromboembolism

In a prospective study, the researchers assessed Lp(a), IL-6 and CRP levels in 219 hospitalized patients with COVID-19 and analyzed with a linear mixed-effects model. They determined that baseline biomarker and increases during admission were related to venous thromboembolism (VTE) incidence. They further assessed the clinical outcomes in Kaplan-Meier and logistic regression analysis.

Key findings of the study:

• Upon analysis, the researchers found that Lp(a) levels increased significantly by a mean of 16.9 mg/dl in patients with COVID-19 during the first 21 days after admission.
• In the top tertile of Lp(a) increase, they noted that 56.2% of COVID-19 patients experienced a VTE event compared to 18.4% in the lowest tertile (RR 3.06).
• They further noted that this association remained significant after adjusting for age, sex, IL-6 and CRP increase and the number of measurements.
• However, they noted that an increase in IL-6 and CRP was not associated with VTE.
• They highlighted that increase in Lp(a) was strongly correlated with an increase in IL-6 (r = 0.44).

The authors concluded, "Increases in Lp(a) levels during the acute phase of COVID-19 were strongly associated with VTE incidence. The acute increase in anti-fibrinolytic Lp(a) may tilt the balance to VTE in patients hospitalized for COVID-19."

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2021.12.008