Smart Living: Does Ethnicity Increase Lipid Risks?

Ethnicity is strongly linked with the risk of developing high blood-lipid levels and an increased risk for cardiac complications while taking protease inhibitors, according to a study in the March edition of PLoS Medicine. A study of blood samples from 626 HIVers showed that African-Americans had lower triglyceride and LDL cholesterol levels, as well as higher HDL cholesterol levels, than whites and Hispanics when taking PIs, thereby reducing their cardiac risks. The study also showed that Hispanics who harbor certain forms of a key gene, called apoC-III, posted smaller increases in triglyceride levels than did those without the gene variants. The presence of the gene variants did not affect triglyceride levels in either white or African-American HIVers.