Borderline fasting hypertriglyceridemia: Absence of excess risk of all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality in healthy men without hypercholesterolemia

Abstract

The majority of prospective studies have shown no independent effect of triglyceride on the prediction of cardiovascular disease after the effects of cholesterol and other heart disease risk factors have been accounted for statistically. Because the association of borderline elevation of triglyceride levels (250–499 mg/dl) with cardiovascular risk might be obscured by its strong correlation with hypercholesterolemia, we examined the relationship in healthy men without hypercholesterolemia. In a population sample of 1,589 healthy fasting men ages 30–79 without known cardiovascular disease or categorical hypercholesterolemia, the prevalence of borderline hypertriglyceridemia was 4.2%, and was unrelated to age. There was no significant excess of borderline hypertriglyceridemia in men with systolic hypertension, or in men who reported use of antihypertensive drugs, current cigarette smoking, or a family history of heart attack before or after age 50. Only obesity, a personal history of diabetes, and fasting hyperglycemia were significantly more common in men with borderline hypertriglyceridemia. Moreover, hypertriglyceridemia was a relatively weak marker for those with diabetes or obesity, being present in only 9% of the former and 6% of the latter. A 12-year follow-up of these men showed no significant association of hypertriglyceridemia with all-cause or cardiovascular death either by univariate analysis or after adjusting for risk factors. These data support the conclusion that borderline hypertriglyceridemia is a poor marker for cardiovascular risk in healthy older men without hypercholesterolemia.