Lipid and lipoprotein triglyceride and cholesterol interrelationships: effects of sex, hormone use, and hyperlipidemia.
The interrelationships of lipid and lipoprotein cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations in normolipidemic and hyperlipidemic employees of the Pacific Northwest Bell Telephone Company were examined bivariately using correlation analysis and multivariately by factor analysis. Application of the latter resulted in the identification of three distinct lipoprotein lipid clusters, which succinctly describes their metabolic relationships. Among normolipidemic subjects, the interrelationships were found to be similar in male and female subjects, but hormone use by women considerably altered interrelationships that involved high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and triglyceride. Among hyperlipidemic subjects, we found that elevation in cholesterol level alone rarely altered relationships, but elevation in triglyceride level either alone or in conjunction with an elevation in cholesterol concentration was associated with substantial changes in relationships involving the low-density lipoprotein (LDL) fraction. In many instances, positive relationships between LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) and other lipoprotein lipids became inverse in the presence of triglyceride elevation. We conclude that hormone use by women and hypertriglyceridemia with or without an elevation in cholesterol level clearly alter lipoprotein relationships, whereas pure hypercholesterolemia does not. These alterations provide a basis for investigating pathophysiologic mechanisms in hypertriglyceridemia.
D000328:Adult; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D003276:Contraceptives, Oral / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004967:Estrogens / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006949:Hyperlipidemias / Q000097:blood*; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood*; D008074:Lipoproteins / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012737:Sex Factors; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood
D003276:Contraceptives, Oral; D004967:Estrogens; D008055:Lipids; D008074:Lipoproteins; D014280:Triglycerides; D002784:Cholesterol