Article

Original Article

Ann Lab Med 2015; 35(1): 15-21

Published online January 1, 2015 https://doi.org/10.3343/alm.2015.35.1.15

Copyright © Korean Society for Laboratory Medicine.

Influence of Blood Lipids on Global Coagulation Test Results

Jung-Ah Kim, M.D.1, Ji-Eun Kim, M.S.2, Sang Hoon Song, M.D.1, and Hyun Kyung Kim, M.D.1,2

Department of Laboratory Medicine1 and Cancer Research Institute2, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

Correspondence to: Hyun Kyung Kim
Department of Laboratory Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, 101 Daehak-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul 110-744, Korea
Tel: +82-2-2072-0853
Fax: +82-2-747-0359
E-mail: lukekhk@snu.ac.kr

Received: May 12, 2014; Revised: July 2, 2014; Accepted: October 19, 2014

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Background: High levels of blood lipids have been associated with high levels of coagulation factors. We investigated whether blood lipids influence the results of global coagulation tests, including prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT), and thrombin generation assay (TGA). Methods: PT, aPTT, and TGA, along with procoagulant and anticoagulant factors, were measured in 488 normal individuals. Vitamin K status was assessed with prothrombin-induced by vitamin K absence-II (PIVKA-II). Results: The procoagulant factors II, VII, IX, X, and XI and anticoagulant factors protein C and protein S showed significant correlations with triglyceride, and the procoagulant factors II, V, VII, IX, X, XI, and XII and anticoagulant factors antithrombin and protein C correlated with total cholesterol. There were no correlations of blood lipid levels with PIVKA-II levels. Subjects with high triglyceride levels (≥200 mg/dL) showed shorter PT values than those with lower triglyceride levels. However, aPTT value was not changed in terms of blood lipid levels. In both 1 and 5 pM tissue factor-induced TGAs, subjects in the high-triglyceride or high-cholesterol groups (≥240 mg/dL) had high levels of lag time, time-to-peak, and endogenous thrombin potential. Total cholesterol was a significant determinant of PT and TGA values. Conclusion: High blood lipids were related with increased coagulation activity in a normal population. Our findings are expected to help interpret the global coagulation test results in individuals with high lipid levels.

Keywords: Blood coagulation tests, Triglycerides, Cholesterol, Blood coagulation factors