High triglyceride causes
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-In-Chief: Priyamvada Singh, M.B.B.S. [2]
Overview
Hypertriglyceridemia can occur due to various causes, including genetics, familial, metabolic and drugs
Causes
Primary hypertriglyceridemia
Genetics [1]
Type I hyperlipoproteinemia
- Genetic deficiency or dysfunction of enzyme lipoprotein lipase (LPL)
- Deficiency of apo C-II, that acts as a cofactor of LPL
- Insulin deficiency or dysfunction in diabetes type 1 and 2 can also cause this disorder as LPL requires insulin for its full function.
Familial combined hyperlipidemia
- Autosomal dominant disorder
- Patients have either isolated triglyceride or LDL-c elevations or both.
- Family history of premature coronary artery disease in 1 or more first-degree relatives
- Family history for elevated triglycerides with or without elevated LDL-c levels.
Familial hypertriglyceridemia
- Autosomal dominant trait
- These patients and their families have isolated triglyceride elevations
- Increased risk of premature coronary artery disease.
Secondary hypertriglyceridemia
Metabolic [1]
Drugs
- Diuretics (high dose thiazide or chlorthalidone)
- Beta-blockers (high doses)
- Estrogen replacement therapy
- Oral contraceptive pills (high estrogen )
- Tamoxifen
- Glucocorticoids
- Oral isotretinoin
- Antiretroviral therapy (protease inhibitors, nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors)
- Atypical antipsychotics
Miscellaneous
- Alcohol
- Pregnancy
- Acute pancreatitis
- Nonalcoholic fatty liver disorder
- High-carbohydrate or high glycemic index
- Glycogen storage disease type 1
- Lysosomal acid lipase deficiency or Cholesteryl ester storage disease
- Paraproteinemias (e.g., hypergammaglobulinemia in macroglobulinemia, myeloma, lymphoma and lymphocytic leukemias)
- Autoimmune disorders (e.g., systemic lupus erythematosis)