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South Asian patients show greater lipogenic sensitivity
Findings recently published in Clinical Endocrinology indicate that South Asian patients have a greater lipogenic sensitivity to dietary sugar compared with white patients.
“The adoption of the ‘Western lifestyle,’ characterized by the overconsumption of cheap, energy-dense food and a sedentary lifestyle, has unmasked the vulnerability of several ethnic and racial groups to glucose intolerance, dyslipidemia, fatty liver, diabetes and cardiovascular disease,” Lisa C. Hudgins, MD, of the Rogosin Institute, New York, and colleagues wrote in the study background. “South Asians, who have ancestors from the Indian subcontinent and account for one-quarter of the world’s population, are among the most severely affected.”
To determine whether hepatic de novo lipogenesis was greater in South Asian patients than in white patients, researchers analyzed data on 15 South Asian and 15 white participants aged 18 to 45 years. All participants had similar BMI, waist circumference and lipid profiles, and all were considered healthy. Hudgins and colleagues took blood samples from participants immediately before they consumed sugar-sweetened beverages, and then hourly for 4 hours after consumption. All participants had fasted for at least 12 hours before consumption and took 30 minutes to drink 12 oz of water containing a single 3-g/kg dose of fructose and glucose dissolved in the beverage. The researchers then measured increases in patients’ palmitate and very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) triglycerides.
The South Asian participants’ VLDL triglyceride levels were higher than those of the white participants after sugar consumption (P = .01), researchers reported, and VLDL (P = .04) and total triglycerides (P < .001) increased among South Asians. The de novo lipogenic response of South Asian participants was correlated with insulin response (r = 0.56; P = .03).
“We demonstrate for the first time a significantly enhanced acute lipogenic response to dietary sugar in young, healthy South Asians compared to Caucasians,” the researchers wrote. “If this approach is expanded to a larger number of subjects from a variety of genetic backgrounds, the interplay of dietary sugar, genetic factors and disease risk can be better assessed. Dietary recommendations can then be fine-tuned and even new pharmacologic targets identified to slow or prevent the onset of disease.” – by Andy Polhamus
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.