[Trends of evaluation of hypertriglyceridemia -from fasting to postprandial hypertriglyceridemia-]

It has been a matter of debate whether hypertriglyceridemia contributes to the development of atherosclerosis. Several explanations for this were available. For example, although there was close relationship between the incidence of coronary heart disease and the plasma triglyceride level, this significant correlation was no longer detected after multiple regression analysis being performed including total cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol. Furthermore, histological examination revealed that the major component of atherosclerotic lesion is oxidized LDL and that triglyceride is rarely detected from these lesions. On the other hand, according to recent large-scale and long-term observational studies from Western countries as well as from Japan, postprandial hypertriglyceridemia can be one of the significant risk factors for coronary heart disease. Association of an appearance of atherogenic remnant particles in the circulation and smaller sized LDL particles with postprandial hypertriglyceridemia may support the atherogenicity of this pathologic condition.