PHYSICOCHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF LOW-DENSITY LIPOPROTEINS IN NORMOLIPIDEMIC ASIAN INDIAN MEN

The present study investigated whether a predisposition to high freque ncy of small, dense low density lipoproteins (LDL) could be an additio nal coronary risk factor in migrant Asian Indians. Ninety-three normol ipidemic (fasting plasma cholesterol levels less than or equal to 240 mg/dl and triglyceride levels less than or equal to 250 mg/dl) adult A sian Indian men residing in the U.S. were compared to a group of 59 Ca ucasian men for the prevalence of LDL electrophoretic patterns A and B (size of major LDL peak greater than or equal to 255 Angstrom for LDL pattern A and < 255 Angstrom for LDL pattern B). Compared to the Cauc asians, the Asian Indians had larger LDL size (mean +/- SD; 260.1 +/- 12.8 Angstrom vs 267.7 +/- 11.4 Angstrom, respectively; p = 0.0002), a n increased frequency of LDL pattern A (59% vs 85%, respectively) and a lower frequency of LDL pattern B (41% vs 15%, respectively) (p = 0.0 005). The difference in LDL size in the two study groups persisted aft er adjusting for the various confounding variables, such as age, plasm a triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and dietary habi ts. We conclude that compared to Caucasians, Asian Indian men have lar ger LDL particles and a lower prevalence of LDL phenotype B in the pre sence of normolipidemia. Therefore, we exclude a genetic predispositio n to atherogenic LDL phenotype as a factor contributing to the high in cidence of coronary heart disease in migrant Asian Indians.