Changes in lipoprotein(a) levels and hormonal correlations during a weight reduction program

To examine the effects of a weight reduction program on serum lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] levels and investigate whether the hormonal modifications occurring during weight loss may explain the changes in Lp(a) levels.

This longitudinal clinical intervention study of a low-calorie diet involved 62 healthy obese patients (21 men aged 32 +/- 9.6 years and 41 women aged 37 +/- 14.6 years). Their anthropometric parameters (weight, height, body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio), fasting serum lipid levels, hormones (total testosterone, estradiol, total triiodothyronine, insulin), sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) and blood sugar levels were determined at baseline and after six weeks of dietary treatment. A 7.5% loss in initial body weight was achieved and there was a statistically significant decrease in serum total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol and triglycerides (p < 0.001). No changes in Lp(a) levels were observed in the study population as a whole, but there was a 17.6% (p < 0.05) reduction in the subjects with high pre-treatment Lp(a) values (> 20 mg/dL). The decrease in Lp(a) levels closely correlated with initial Lp(a) levels (r = 0.81 p < 0.001), but did not correlate with changes in anthropometric parameters or the hormonal modifications occurring during the weight loss.

A low-calorie diet associated with weight loss in obese subjects may have beneficial effects on serum Lp(a) levels in patients with high pre-treatment Lp(a) concentrations. This effect seems to be independent of the hormonal changes observed during weight loss.