Triglycerides and Coronary Heart Disease Revisited (Again)
Authors: Michael H. Criqui
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2007)

Editorials18 September 2007Triglycerides and Coronary Heart Disease Revisited (Again)Michael H. Criqui, MD, MPHMichael H. Criqui, MD, MPHFrom University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0607.Author, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-147-6-200709180-00014 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail Despite the extensive literature on the relationship of lipid and lipoprotein particles to coronary heart disease (CHD) incidence, the specific association of triglycerides with incident CHD has arguably generated more disagreement than any other measure. The most parsimonious explanations for this controversy are that contradictory results abound and that positive studies typically show a modest effect size. Two published meta-analyses concurred that triglycerides were independent risk factors for CHD, even after adjustment for high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, which is strongly and inversely correlated with triglycerides (1, 2). In the first meta-analysis, published in 1996 (1), the overall relative risk for ...References1. Hokanson JE, Austin MA. Plasma triglyceride level is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease independent of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level: a meta-analysis of population-based prospective studies. J Cardiovasc Risk. 1996;3:213-9. [PMID: 8836866] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. Sarwar N, Danesh J, Eiriksdottir G, Sigurdsson G, Wareham N, Bingham S, et al. Triglycerides and the risk of coronary heart disease: 10,158 incident cases among 262,525 participants in 29 Western prospective studies. Circulation. 2007;115:450-8. [PMID: 17190864] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Criqui MH, Heiss G, Cohn R, Cowan LD, Suchindran CM, Bangdiwala S, et al. 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Arterial Biology for the Investigation of the Treatment Effects of Reducing Cholesterol (ARBITER) 2: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study of extended-release niacin on atherosclerosis progression in secondary prevention patients treated with statins. Circulation. 2004;110:3512-7. [PMID: 15537681] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Michael H. Criqui, MD, MPHAffiliations: From University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0607.Disclosures: None disclosed.Corresponding Author: Michael H. Criqui, MD, MPH, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, MC 0607, La Jolla, CA 92093-0607. 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