Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of mortality, not only in the Western
world, but also in developing countries. It has been suggested that circulating insulin
like growth factor-1 (IGF-I) and insulin like growth factor binding protein-3(IGFBP-
3) are involved in the pathophysiological processes underlying coronary artery
disease. We evaluated the relationship between the levels of IGF-I and IGFBP-3 nd
coronary atherosclerosis in sixty two patients attending Cardiac Clinic and Coronary
Care Unit at Suez Canal University Hospital, and 30 healthy controls. IGF-1 and
IGFBP-3 were measured using Immulite 1000. Fasting blood glucose and lipid
profile were measured for all subjects. Coronary artery disease was more frequent
among males compared to females (67.7%, and 32.3% respectively). Total cholesterol
(TC), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLc) and triacylglycerol (TAG) levels
were significantly higher, while HDL was significantly lower in patients than
controls. The means of IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 were significantly higher among control
group compared to patients group (212.5 ± 109.1 ng/ml and 6.4 ± 2.3 ng/ml versus
129.5 ± 66.2 ng/ml., 4.4 ± 1.6 ng/ml respectively, p= 0.001 for each). Thirty (48.4%)
of patients had 3 stenosed vessels. The mean percent of stenosis was 74.7 ± 14.2 %.
IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 were lower in the group of three affected vessels but there was
no significant correlation between both parameters and severity of the disease. There
was significant correlation between IGF-1 and HDL (r =0.254, p-value = 0.046) in
patients group while no significant correlation between IGF-1 and other parameters
in both groups. There was no significant correlation between IGFBP-3 and other
parameters in both groups. In conclusion, IGF-1, IGFBP-3 may be used to determine
the risk of coronary artery disease in Egyptian population living in Suez Canal area.