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Posted on May 20, 2010, 6 a.m.
People who possess a gene that boosts triglyceride levels have been found to have a significantly higher risk of heart disease.
Results of a review of data from 101 studies involving more than 350,000 people have linked triglycerides, a type of fat found in the blood, to coronary heart disease. Dr Nadeem Sarwar and colleagues at Cambridge University (UK) based their study on the ?1131T>C (rs662799) promoter polymorphism of the apolipoprotein A5 (APOA5) gene, a genetic variant that is known to increase triglyceride levels. Results showed that people who possessed the gene were 18% more likely to develop coronary heart disease than those who did not. The study authors concluded: "These data are consistent with a causal association between triglyceride-mediated pathways and coronary heart disease."
Triglyceride Coronary Disease Genetics Consortium and Emerging Risk Factors Collaboration.Triglyceride-mediated pathways and coronary disease: collaborative analysis of 101 studies. The Lancet. 2010;375:1634-1639.
