Table 1.

Main epidemiological studies on cholesterol remnants (CR) and cardiovascular events.

Study	Study Population	Results
Remnant lipoprotein levels in fasting serum predict coronary events in patients with coronary artery disease Kugiyama k et al. [38]	135 patients with coronary artery disease with a maximum follow up of 36 months.	Patients with higher CR values developed a recurrence of coronary events more frequently [tertile I vs. tertile III: HR, 5.91; 95% CI, 2.0 to 17.2]
Prognostic value of remnant-like lipoprotein particle levels in patients with coronary artery disease and type II diabetes mellitus Fukushima H et al. [37]	120 patients with coronary artery disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus with a maximum follow up of 24 months.	Patients with higher CR values developed a recurrence of coronary artery disease more frequently [I quartile vs. others: HR 2.2; 95% CI, 1.2 to 6.4]
Are remnant-like particles independent predictors of coronary heart disease incidence? the Honolulu Heart Study Imke C et al. [39]	1156 Japanese–American men aged 60 to 82 followed for 17 years.	In multivariate analysis, RCs were correlated with the incidence of coronary events regardless of nonlipid risk factors and HDL-C and LDL-C levels. RCs correlated with TG.
Predictive value of remnant lipoprotein for cardiovascular events in patients with coronary artery disease after achievement of LDL-cholesterol goals Nakamura T. et al. [40]	560 patients suffering from coronary artery disease, on lipid-lowering therapy and at target for LDL-c (editor’s note: at the time of the study, target LDL-c < 100 mg/dL), followed up for an average of 33 months.	CR values were superior to non-HDL-C in predicting cardiovascular events in coronary artery patients with LDL-C < 100 mg/dL on statin therapy [As a continuous variable expressed in mg/dl: HR 1.74; 95% CI 1.31–2.32]
High remnant lipoprotein predicts recurrent cardiovascular events on statin treatment after acute coronary syndrome Nguyen S. V. et al. [41]	190 Japanese patients with coronary artery disease, and on statin treatment, followed over time for up to 70 months.	High levels of fasting CRs (5.4 mg/dL) were associated with a greater risk of recurrence of coronary events [>5.4 mg/dL: HR 2.94; 95% CI 1.40–6.18]
Remnant lipoprotein cholesterol and incident coronary heart disease: the Jackson Heart and Framingham Offspring Cohort Studies Joshi P.H. et al. [42]	4932 patients from the Framingham and Jackson Heart Studies, followed for at least 8 years.	Elevated CR levels were associated with an increased risk of ischemic cardiac events [For each SD: HR 1.23; 95% CI 1.06–1.47]
Remnant lipoproteinemia predicts cardiovascular events in patients with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease Nguyen S.V. et al. [43]	365 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and chronic kidney disease followed for an average of 45 months	High fasting RC values (4.3 mg/dL) were associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular events [>4.3 mg/dL: HR 1.30; 95% CI 1.04–1.63]
Remnant-like particle cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein triglycerides, and incident cardiovascular disease Saeed A. et al. [7]	9334 subjects followed over time for a maximum of 16 years	CR values were associated with the incidence of cardiovascular events in univariate analysis but not after adjustment for classic risk factors.
Fasting and nonfasting lipid levels: influence of normal food intake on lipids, lipoproteins, apolipoproteins, and cardiovascular risk prediction Langsted A et al. [24]	33,391 patients from the General Copenhagen population with a follow up of 14 years	Tertile III vs tertile I of total-C., non-HDL-C, LDL-C, Apo B/TG, ratio, total-C/HDL-C Ratio, apo B/A1 predicted a 1.7 to 2.4 times increased CVD risk.
Fasting compared with nonfasting lipids and apolipoproteins for predicting incident cardiovascular events Mora S et al. [25]	26,330 healthy women followed up for 11 years in fasting and non-fasting conditions	HDL-C (HR 1.15), TG, total-C/HDL-C, Apo A 1 predicted CVD events when measured after a meal (p < 0.001). LDL-C, total-C and apoB100 were less predictive when measured non fasting.
Directly measured vs. calculated remnant cholesterol identifies additional overlooked individuals in the general population at higher risk of myocardial infarction Varbo A et al. [29]	16,207 patients from the General Copenhagen population with a follow up of 14 years	Measured vs. calculated RCs indicated a 1.8 (1.35–2.47) increased risk for myocardial infarction.
Remnant Cholesterol, Not LDL Cholesterol, Is Associated with Incident Cardiovascular Disease Castaner O et al. [44]	6901 high CVD risk subjects following Mediterranean diet with 14 years follow up.	In overweight/obese high CVD risk subjects TG (p < 0.001) and RCs, but not LDL-C were independent risk factors for CVD events.
Remnant cholesterol predicts cardiovascular disease beyond LDL and ApoB: a primary prevention study Quispe R et al. [45]	17,532 subjects with no evidence of atherosclerosis with 18.7 years follow up.	An increase in RCs was associated with the appearance of atherosclerotic lesions (HR 1.65; CI 1.45–1.89) regardless of risk factors such as LDL-C and apoB.
Remnant Lipoprotein Cholesterol and Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Events in Patients with Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Pastori D et al. [46]	798 subjects with NAFLD with 32 months follow up	RCs higher in patients with NAFLD vs. controls (p < 0.001).
Association of remnant cholesterol and lipid parameters with new-onset carotid plaque in Chinese population Liu B at al. [47]	872 Chinese subjects with no evidence of atherosclerosis and CVD with 6.7 years follow up	RCs significantly associated with incidence of atherosclerotic plaques (OR 1.57; CI 1.03–2.45; p = 0.038). No association with other plasma lipids and lipoproteins.
Elevated remnant cholesterol increases the risk of peripheral artery disease, myocardial infarction, and ischaemic stroke: a cohort-based study Wadstrom B. N et al. [48]	106,937 individuals from the Copenhagen General Population Study with 15 years follow-up	Elevated RCs is associated with PAD incidence (HR 4.8; CI 3.1–7.5), more than with myocardial infarction (HR 4.2; CI 2.9–6.1) and ischaemic stroke (HR 1.8; CI 1.4–2.5)
Elevated remnant cholesterol, plasma triglycerides, and cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular mortality Wadstrom B. N et al. [49]	87,192 individuals from the Copenhagen General Population Study with 13 years follow-up	RCs of ≥1 mmol/L (39 mg/dL)band plasma triglycerides of ≥2 mmol/L (177 mg/dL) associated with two-fold mortality from cardiovascular and other non-neoplastic causes.