Ethnic difference in sex gap in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol between asian indians and whites

Objective: To study whether low plasma high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) reported in Asian Indians is common in both men and women when compared with whites and whether it is related to increased body mass index (BMI) and plasma triglyceride concentration.Design: We evaluated the lipid profile and prevalence of low HDL-C (<40 mg/dL in men and <50 mg/dL in women) in the following cohorts of normoglycemic 1404 men and 1817 women: Asian Indians living in rural India; urban Chennai, India; and Dallas, TX; and whites living in Dallas, TX. Results: After adjustment for age, BMI, and smoking,HDL-C was not significantly different in Asian Indian men compared with whites. However, Asian Indian women had lower HDL-C compared with white women,and rural Asian Indian women had the lowest HDL-C even in the absence of high triglycerides. Lean Asian Indian women with BMI of less than 23 kg/m2 had higher frequency of low HDL-C compared with lean white women with BMI of less than 25 kg/m² (72%, 56%, 48%, and 25% in rural, urban, and Dallas Asian Indian and white women, respectively) and lean men (52%, 42%, 28%, and 35% in rural, urban, and Dallas Asian Indian and white men, respectively). Sex differences in HDL-C was estimated as 6.6 ± 0.5 mg/dL for Asian Indians and 15.3 ± 1.1 mg/dL for whites (P < 0.0001 for sex difference in the 2 ethnic groups).Conclusions: Increased prevalence of low HDL-C independently of obesity or hypertriglyceridemia is observed in women but not in men of Asian Indian origin. The sex gap in HDL-C is significantly smaller in Asian Indians compared with whites independent of geographicallocation.