In the present study, HDL cholesterol levels were also not correlated to CADB, although previous studies have been shown HDL to be negatively associated with the importance of coronary artery disease, whereas no such relation was noted involving LDL cholesterol. Calcium is yet another substance that is frequently found in atherosclerotic lesions. In a previous study carried out in patients Age presented in years. CADB-coronary artery disease burden; however,WZ4002 no significant correlation with CADB was found either with calcium or phosphorus. The mean plasma calcium measured in the present investigation was, in fact, significantly higher than in the previous study, indicating that, as previously reported, plasma calcium values measured in inpatients may be different from values measured in outpatients, and may not hold precisely the same physiological significance. Renal dysfunction could act as a risk factor for coronary artery disease. However, it is unclear if renal dysfunction acts as a cause for accelerated coronary artery disease or if it merely acts as a surrogate marker for the overall systemic vascular system status. Obesity also acts as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Previous studies have shown that increased BMI values may be associated to lower coronary artery disease burden, a finding that may depend on the fact that such patients are frequently studied at an earlier age. In the present investigation,WZ8040 no relation was noted between BMI and CADB, neither in univariate nor in linear regression analysis. Diabetes mellitus is a well known risk factor for coronary artery disease, as well as cardiovascular disease in general. Glucose metabolism has been shown to correlate with the angiographic importance of coronary artery disease, data in good agreement with the present results. Diabetes mellitus has also been shown to be associated to coronary artery calcification in asymptomatic subjects. Elevated fasting plasma glucose in type II diabetes mellitus is known to be frequently associated to elevated plasma levels of plasma insulin. In the present results, plasma glucose showed a significant relation versus CADB in both univariate and multivariate analysis, indicating that glucose metabolic pathways may play a role in the growth of atheroscle-rotic lesions.