Table 1.

HDL-C as a good predictor of cardiovascular risk.

Author [reference]	Methodology	Conclusions
Barter et al. [6]	Post hoc analysis of data from the Treating to New Targets Study, a multicentric, randomized, double-blind study which assessed the predictive value of HDL-C in 9,770 subjects with established CVD on statin therapy.	Based on HDL-C quintiles, a multivariate analysis revealed individuals with HDL-C >55 mg/dL to have a lower risk of cardiovascular mortality than subjects with HDL-C <38 mg/dL (HR: 0.75; IC 95%: 0.60–0.95). In subjects on statin therapy, the best lipid predictor for CVD was HDL-C, even when LDL-C <70 mg/dL.
Castelli et al. [10]	Multicentric case-control study with 6859 subjects of diverse ethnicities from the Cooperative Lipoprotein Phenotyping Study.	HDL-C concentration was significantly higher in subjects without established CVD. An inverse correlation was ascertained between these factors, without significant variation after adjustment for total cholesterol, LDL-C, and TAG levels.
Gordon et al. [11]	Prospective report from the Framingham Heart Study, with 2,815 subjects aged 49–82 years, whose serum lipids were quantified throughout a 4-year follow-up period in order to evaluate cardiovascular mortality.	142 individuals developed CVD (79 males, 63 females), with HDL-C being the best CVR predictor. These variables shared an inverse correlation in both genders, even after adjustment for multiple other risk factors.
Wilson et al. [12]	Prospective report from the Framingham Heart Study, with 2,748 individuals aged 50–79 years after a 12-year follow-up period.	An inverse relationship was identified between HDL-C levels and coronary artery disease mortality in both genders (p > 0.05). HDL-C was found to be the best predictor of cardiovascular mortality.
Emerging Risk Factors Collaboration [44]	302,430 subjects from the Emerging Risk Factors Collaboration Study data without history of coronary artery disease were studied to analyze the association between serum lipids and CVR.	A strong inverse association was found between risk of coronary artery disease and HDL-C levels after adjusting for nonlipid risk factors (HR: 0.71; IC 95%: 0.68–0.75) and even after adjustment for non-HDL cholesterol (HR: 0.78; IC 95%: 0.74–0.82).
Assmann et al. [45]	The incidence of coronary artery disease was determined in 4,559 male subjects aged ≥40 years from the Prospective Cardiovascular Münster Study over a 6-year follow-up period.	Univariate analysis revealed a significant inverse relationship between CAD and HDL-C (p > 0.001), even after adjustment for several other risk factors.