Dyslipidemia

Overview
Dyslipidemia is a disruption in the amount of lipids in the blood.

In western societies, most dyslipidemias are hyperlipidemias; that is, an elevation of lipids in the blood, often due to diet and lifestyle. The prolonged elevation of insulin levels can lead to dyslipidemia.

Classification
There are two major ways in which dyslipidemias are classified:


 * Phenotype, or the presentation in the body (including the specific type of lipid that is increased)
 * Etiology, or the reason for the condition (genetic, or secondary to another condition.) This classification can be problematic, because most conditions involve the intersection of genetics and lifestyle issues. However, there are a few well defined genetic conditions that are usually easy to identify.

Increases

 * Hyperlipidemia: lipids
 * Hypercholesterolemia: cholesterol
 * Hypertriglyceridemia: triglycerides


 * Hyperlipoproteinemia: lipoproteins (usually LDL unless otherwise specified)
 * Hyperchylomicronemia: chylomicrons


 * Combined hyperlipidemia: both LDL and triglycerides


 * Familial hypercholesterolemia is a specific form of hypercholesterolemia due to a defect on chromosome 19 (19p13.1-13.3).

Decreases

 * Hypolipoproteinemia: lipoproteins
 * Hypocholesterolemia: cholesterol
 * Abetalipoproteinemia: beta lipoproteins
 * Tangier disease: high density lipoprotein

Related Chapters

 * Hyperlipidemia
 * Hypercholesterolemia
 * Hypertriglyceridemia
 * Hyperlipoproteinemia