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.”
