NATURAL VARIATION OF BLOOD PLASMA LIPIDS IN HEALTHY ASIAN INDIVIDUALS

摘要

Many unanswered questions remain as to the impact of genome natural variation in healthy populations. Biological variation can also be studied by assessing metabolic profiles within (within-subject variation) and across (between-subject variation) individuals. Numerous endogenous and exogenous factors contribute to biological variation and affect homeostatically controlled metabolic profiles. The influence of ethnicity remains a largely unknown contributor to between-subject variation. It is imperative to understand ethnic variations in basal lipid profiles across healthy individuals before we can study pathological conditions. This study aims to explore biological variation of glycerophospholipids, sphingolipids and sterols in human plasma from approximately 360 healthy Singaporeans, with an equal split across the major ethnic groups in Singapore (Chinese, Malay and Indian).