The Ser(447)-Stop polymorphism of lipoprotein lipase is associated with variation in longitudinal serum high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol profiles: The Bogalusa Heart Study

The Ser(447)-Stop polymorphism of lipoprotein lipase (LPL) has been associa ted with altered high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) and triglycer ide (TG) levels at individual measurements, but nothing is known of its ass ociations with lipid profiles derived from serial measurements. We used mul tilevel statistical models to study effects of this polymorphism on longitu dinal lipid profiles in 1,006 Bogalusa Heart Study subjects examined 4 to 9 times between the ages of 4 and 38 years. Stop(447) allele frequencies in African Americans (0.053 +/- 0.011) and whites (0.091 +/- 0.009) differed s ignificantly (chi (2) = 7.595, 1 df P = .006; Stop(447) homozygotes and het erozygotes combined). Overall, TG levels were lower and HDL-G levels higher in blacks than in whites of the same age and sex. Longitudinal TG profiles were lower in Stop(447) carriers at all ages. However, longitudinal HDL-G profiles differed among genotype groups with age: the Stop(447) allele was associated with higher HDL-C only in subjects above approximately 10 years of age. Genotype-specific HDL-G profiles also differed significantly among race/sex groups. Thus, we found evidence of LPL genotype effects that vary within individuals with age. Possible mechanisms, which could account for a ge-related changes in the effects of LPL variants, are discussed. Copyright (C) 2001 by W.B. Saunders Company.