Epidemiology of triglycerides: a view from Framingham

New analyses from the Framingham Heart Study are presented showing that men and women who have high triglyceride levels (> 1.7 mmol/liter) and a low high-density lipoprotein (HDL) level (< 1.03 mmol/liter) run a significantly higher rate of coronary artery disease and can be identified, and that this risk group (high triglyceride-low HDL) is, independently of the major risk factors (including low HDL), related to occurrence of coronary artery disease. Further, this trait appears to be common in our society, producing twice as many cases of coronary artery disease during the 14 years of the Framingham study as the next highest disease-producing lipid abnormality. This trait of high triglyceride-low HDL is associated in the medical literature with increased insulin resistance, higher blood sugars (within the normal range), higher uric acid levels, hypertension, and centrally mediated obesity. Because total cholesterol in people with these traits may be less than or just slightly greater than 5.2 mmol/liter, they are missed or neglected by most cholesterol screening programs.