The genetics of fat content in blood in different ethnicity

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Publication date: 01 Dec 2021

Keywords: diverse ethnicity, genetics, lipids

What is already known about this subject:

  • High fat content within an individual's circulation/blood is a known risk for heart diseases. Worldwide, different diets and medications have been used for purposes of lowering fat content in blood in individuals with high levels of fat content in their blood; however, it appears the same diet and/or medication do not seem to have the same effect across different racial/ethnic groups.
  • A growing body of evidence suggests that genetic differences across the different racial and ethnic groups could potentially explain the differences in the effectiveness of a diet and/or medication. However, the majority of genetic studies haven been conducted in populations of Caucasian descent.
  • Hence, in collaboration with cohorts from the Global Lipids Genetics Consortium (GLGC), the aim of this study is to investigate the association between genetics and fat content in blood in an ethnically diverse population and develop a genetic score that can be applied to all individuals in the study of fat content in blood.

What this study adds

  • The outcome measures investigated included total cholesterol (TC), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c) and triglycerides (TG) from the Raine Study Gen2 participant follow-up carried out at 20 years of age. Outcome measures are only valid if the study participant did an overnight fast prior to the blood sample collection.
  • In collaboration with cohorts within the Global Lipids Genetics Consortium (GLGC), the number of genes identified were substantially improved when multiple ethnic groups were included as compared to the number of genes identified based on analyses conducted in a specific ethnic group.
  • The meta-analysis of multiple ethnic groups had enabled the development of a genetic score that can be used in the prediction of lipid levels in Caucasian and African-American, and potentially individuals of other ethnic background. Presently, such a genetic score is typically applicable to the specific ethnic group from which the score had been developed from; the results from this study meant that clinicians could potentially use a genetic score that can be applicable to all individuals to identify those at risk of high lipid levels and provide the appropriate care for the patient's needs.
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