Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between Life's Essential 8 (LE8) and the Atherogenic Index of Plasma (AIP). Methods: We conducted an analysis of data from 8,215 U.S. adults aged 20 years and older, utilizing the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data from 2007 to 2018. Based on LE8 scores, Cardiovascular Health (CVH) was stratified into three levels—low, moderate, and high—while AIP was categorized into four risk levels: extremely low (AIP<-0.3), low (-0.3≤AIP<0.1), medium (0.1≤AIP<0.24), and high (AIP≤0.24). Weighted ordinal logistic regression analysis was utilized to examine the association between CVH scores and AIP risk levels, adjusting for potential confounding variables. Results: A significant inverse correlation exists between CVH scores and AIP risk levels (OR=0.51, 95%CI: 0.49-0.54, P<0.001). Higher CVH scores were associated with lower AIP risk levels, while lower CVH scores corresponded to elevated AIP risk levels. Notably, improvements in specific CVH components such as Body Mass Index and Blood Lipids exhibited a strong relationship with reductions in AIP risk levels. Conclusions: Enhancing CVH is vital for effectively reducing AIP risk levels, thus underscoring the critical importance of health management strategies in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases.

The authors have declared no competing interest.

No external funding.

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All study protocols have been approved by the National Center for Health Statistics Research Ethics Review Board, and written informed consent was obtained from all participants.

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The data utilized in this study are derived from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES): https://wwwn.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes/Default.aspx, and the data used are publicly available. The corresponding author can be contacted for data.

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