Genetic variation in HDL-related genes and the association with cardiovascular disease: HDL particles as chameleons of lipoprotein metabolism.

摘要

Over the years, epidemiological evidence has clearly shown that low concentrations of high-density lipo-protein cholesterol (HDL-C) are associated with adverse cardiovascular outcomes. Recently, a meta-analysis including more than 300 000 individuals without vascular disease at baseline from 68 long-term prospective studies and almost 2.8 million person-years of follow-up demonstrated an adjusted decrease in risk of coronary heart disease by 22% (hazard ratio = 0.78, 95% confidence interval 0.74-0.82) for each increase in HDL-C of 15mgdL^x. However, an association describes a statistical relationship between two or more parameters but does not necessarily indicate causality.