Introduction
Hypertriglyceridemia is defined as a serum triglyceride (TG) level
>150 mg/dL (1.7 mmol/L).1It is commonly
detected as a part of routine blood work which includes a fasting lipid
panel to assess for cardiovascular risks. It is categorized into three
groups based on the triglyceride levels-
- Normal: <150 mg/dL (1.7 mmol/L)
- Moderate hypertriglyceridemia: 150 to 885 mg/dL (1.7 to 10 mmol/L)
- Severe hypertriglyceridemia: >885 mg/dL (≥10 mmol/L)
Atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases like myocardial infarction and
cerebrovascular accidents are more common in patients with elevated
fasting plasma TG levels2.1 to 10 percent of acute
pancreatitis cases are caused by
hypertriglyceridemia3.
A less common cause of hypertriglyceridemia is Lipodystrophy,
which involves fat loss in a generalized or partial pattern and is often
associated
with hypertriglyceridemia, diabetes
mellitus,
and hepatic
steatosis. Lipodystrophies are classified as either genetic or
acquired4. The acquired forms are usually caused by
various infections, autoimmune diseases, and drugs such as protease
inhibitors and reverse transcriptase inhibitors. Genetic lipodystrophies
areelucidated in the discussion section of the report.