Postprandial Lipid Concentrations and Daytime Biological Variation of Lipids in a Healthy Chinese Population.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Prospective single-arm observational biological variation study in healthy volunteers without a control group.
PubMed 29797813 · doi:10.3343/alm.2018.38.5.431
What was done
Venous blood was collected from 41 ostensibly healthy Chinese volunteers across five daytime time points (06:30, 09:00, 12:00, 15:00, and 18:30). Lipid parameters—including triglycerides, total cholesterol, HDL-C, LDL-C, apolipoprotein A1 (ApoA1), and apolipoprotein B (ApoB)—were analyzed using a single batch of reagents. Nested ANOVA was used to calculate within-subject biological variation (CVI) and between-subject biological variation (CVG).
What was found
Postprandial triglyceride levels rose above fasting concentrations, reaching a peak difference at 12:00 (0.5 hours after lunch) of 0.21 ± 0.65 mmol/L, with high biological variation (CVI = 25%, CVG = 35.9%). In contrast, postprandial concentrations of total cholesterol, HDL-C, LDL-C, ApoA1, and ApoB were mostly lower than fasting baseline and displayed low biological variation (CVI = 2.4–4.4%, CVG = 11.8–18.7%).
Why it matters
These findings provide local empirical data supporting the use of non-fasting blood samples for standard lipid screening in healthy populations, though postprandial triglyceride measurements still require contextual interpretation.
Limits
The study evaluated a small sample (n = 41) restricted to healthy Chinese volunteers over a single day. It did not test patients with dyslipidemia, diabetes, or cardiovascular disease, and the abstract does not report standardized dietary intake or long-term clinical outcomes.
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