Impact of free fatty acids on prognosis in coronary artery disease patients under different glucose metabolism status

Abstract Background The aim of the present study is to examine the effects of free fatty acids (FFAs) on major cardiovascular events (MACEs) in patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD) and different glucose metabolism status. Methods In this study, we consecutively enrolled 5443 patients from March 2011 to May 2015. Patients were categorized according to both status of glucose metabolism status [diabetes mellitus (DM), pre-diabetes (Pre-DM), normal glycaemia regulation (NGR)] and FFAs levels. All subjects were followed up for the occurrence of the MACEs. Results During a median of 6.7 years’ follow-up, 608 MACEs occurred. A twofold higher FFAs level was independently associated with MACEs after adjusting for confounding factors [Hazard Ratio (HR): 1.242, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.084–1.424, p value = 0.002]. Adding FFAs to the Cox model increased the C-statistic by 0.015 (0.005–0.027). No significant difference in MACEs was observed between NGR and Pre-DM groups (p > 0.05). When patients were categorized by both status of glucose metabolism and FFAs levels, medium and high FFAs were associated with significantly higher risk of MACEs in Pre-DM [1.736 (1.018–2.959) and 1.779 (1.012–3.126), all p-value