Genetic variants associated with fasting blood lipids in the U.S. population: Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

Using data from the second phase (1991-1994) of the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III), we examined associations between 22 polymorphisms in 13 candidate genes and four serum lipids: high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), total cholesterol (TC), and triglycerides (TG). Univariate and multivariable linear regression and within-gene haplotype trend regression were used to test for genetic associations assuming an additive mode of inheritance for each of the three major race/ethnic groups in the United States (non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black, and Mexican American).Variants within APOE (rs7412, rs429358), PON1 (rs854560), ITGB3 (rs5918), and NOS3 (rs2070744) were found to be associated with one or more blood lipids in at least one race/ethnic group in crude and adjusted analyses. In non-Hispanic whites, no individual polymorphisms were associated with any lipid trait. However, the PON1 A-G haplotype was significantly associated with LDL-C and TC. In non-Hispanic blacks, APOE variant rs7412 and haplotype T-T were strongly associated with LDL-C and TC; whereas, rs5918 of ITGB3 was significantly associated with TG. Several variants and haplotypes of three genes were significantly related to lipids in Mexican Americans: PON1 in relation to HDL-C; APOE and NOS3 in relation to LDL-C; and APOE in relation to TC.We report the significant associations of blood lipids with variants and haplotypes in APOE, ITGB3, NOS3, and PON1 in the three main race/ethnic groups in the U.S. population using a large, nationally representative and population-based sample survey. Results from our study contribute to a growing body of literature identifying key determinants of plasma lipoprotein concentrations and could provide insight into the biological mechanisms underlying serum lipid and cholesterol concentrations.Decades of research have demonstrated that serum concentrations of blood lipids are associa