Impaired HDL response to fat in men with coronary artery disease

A low HDL cholesterol is found frequently in subjects with premature coronary artery disease. We speculated that individuals with a normal total cholesterol and coronary artery disease have an impaired HDL response to dietary fat. Twenty-one men with recently diagnosed coronary artery disease and total plasma cholesterol of <6 mmol/l were matched by age, weight and cholesterol with 26 men with no personal or family history of coronary artery disease. They were placed sequentially on a 25% fat diet for 2 weeks, a high carbohydrate supplement which reduced fat to 16% of energy for 3 weeks and a high monounsaturated fat supplement which increased fat to 35% for a final 3-week period. Half of the subjects underwent an intravenous glucose tolerance test at the end of the intervention periods. The high fat supplement increased HDL cholesterol from 0.79 to 0.89 mmol/l in the men with coronary artery disease while HDL increased from 0.88 to 1.05 mmol/l in the control group (P<0.05 for group difference). Plasma triglyceride fell by 0.79 and 0.45 mmol/l in cases and controls respectively (P<0.05 for group difference). LDL cholesterol fell by 0.2 mmol/l in both groups. Men with coronary artery disease had an enhanced insulin response during the intravenous glucose tolerance test (P<0.03) particularly in the low fat phase. Thus men with premature coronary artery disease and a low HDL cholesterol appear to have an impaired elevation of HDL cholesterol in response to dietary fat, and insulin resistance may underlie this response.