Approach to the patient with extremely low HDL-cholesterol

Abstract

Patients with extremely low high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) pose distinct challenges to clinical diagnosis and management. Confirmation of HDL-C levels below 20 mg/dl in the absence of severe hypertriglyceridemia should be followed by evaluation for secondary causes, such as androgen use, malignancy, andprimarymonogenicdisorders, namely, apolipoprotein A-I mutations, Tangier disease, and lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase deficiency. Global cardiovascular risk assessment is a criticalcomponentof comprehensive evaluation, although the association between extremely low HDL-C levels and atherosclerosis remains unclear. Therapeutic interventions address reversible causes of low HDL-C, multi-organ abnormalities that may accompany primary disorders and cardiovascular risk modification when appropriate. Uncommon encounters with patients exhibiting extremely low HDL-C provide an opportunity to directly observe the role of HDL metabolism in atherosclerosis and beyond the vascular system. Copyright © 2012 by The Endocrine Society.