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Horm Metab Res 1995; 27(7): 326-331
DOI: 10.1055/s-2007-979971
Originals Clinical

© Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart · New York

Physico-Chemical Properties of Low Density Lipoproteins in Normolipidemic Asian Indian Men

N. Abate1 , A. Garg1 , 2 , E. A. Enas2
  • 1The Center for Human Nutrition and the Department of Internal Medicine, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, Dallas, Texas, U.S.A.
  • 2Coronary Artery Disease in Indians Study, American Association of Physicians from India
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Publication History

1995

1995

Publication Date:
23 April 2007 (online)

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Abstract

The present study investigated whether a predisposition to high frequency of small, dense low density lipoproteins (LDL) could be an additional coronary risk factor in migrant Asian Indians. Ninety-three normolipidemic (fasting plasma cholesterol levels ≤ 240 mg/dl and triglyceride levels ≤ 250 mg/dl) adult Asian Indian men residing in the U.S. were compared to a group of 59 Caucasian men for the prevalence of LDL electrophoretic patterns A and B (size of major LDL peak ≤ 255 Å for LDL pattern A and <255 Å for LDL pattern B). Compared to the Caucasians, the Asian Indians had larger LDL size (mean ± SD; 260.1 ± 12.8 Å vs 267.7 ± 11.4 Å, respectively; p = 0.0002), an increased frequency of LDL pattern A (59% vs 85%, respectively) and a lower frequency of LDL pattern B (41% vs 15%, respectively) (p = 0.0005). The difference in LDL size in the two study groups persisted after adjusting for the various confounding variables, such as age, plasma triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and dietary habits. We conclude that compared to Caucasians, Asian Indian men have larger LDL particles and a lower prevalence of LDL phenotype B in the presence of normolipidemia. Therefore, we exclude a genetic predisposition to atherogenic LDL phenotype as a factor contributing to the high incidence of coronary heart disease in migrant Asian Indians.

Key words

India - LDL Patterns - Coronary Heart Disease - Ethnicity - Diet - Lipoprotein

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