The Study
ApoC-III and visceral adipose tissue contribute to paradoxically normal triglyceride levels in insulin-resistant African-American women
This study looked at a small group of women and noticed that African-American women had lower fat around their belly and lower levels of a certain protein, and also had lower fat in their blood — even though their bodies were less sensitive to insulin. But it didn’t change anything to test if those things caused the lower fat; it just saw that they happened together.
Analysis score
Maximum 44 for a cross-sectional study.
Where the score came from
Even though African-American women are more insulin resistant, their blood has less fat-carrying particles than white women. This is because they have less belly fat and less of a protein called apoC-III that normally makes fat stay in the blood longer.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 544 / 100
Quality score
Snapshots of a population at a single point in time, or descriptions of small groups. Can identify correlations and prevalence, but cannot determine cause and effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes — this means standard blood tests for heart risk (like triglycerides) may miss danger in African-American women because their numbers look normal even when they're metabolically at risk.
- 2African-American women had 30-40% lower apoC-III in dense VLDL and 25% less visceral fat than white women, despite similar BMI and higher insulin resistance.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Nutrition & Metabolism
Year
2013
Authors
A. Sumner, J. Furtado, A. Courville, M. Ricks, Novie Younger-Coleman, M. Tulloch-Reid, F. Sacks
Related Content
Claims (5)
African-American women have lower levels of apolipoprotein C-III in dense VLDL particles than white women, and this difference predicts triglyceride levels more accurately than insulin resistance or race by itself.
In African-American women, having less fat around the internal organs is linked to lower levels of triglycerides in two types of blood fat particles, even when insulin resistance is present.
In African-American women, the amount of triglycerides in VLDL particles is not determined by insulin resistance alone when the levels of visceral fat and apolipoprotein C-III are taken into account.
Among African-American women with high insulin resistance and low visceral fat, lower levels of apolipoprotein C-III are linked to lower triglyceride levels in specific fat-carrying particles in the blood.
African-American women have less triglyceride in certain fat-carrying particles in their blood than white women, even when they have higher insulin resistance and the same body weight, suggesting a difference in how their bodies process fats that is not due to known risk factors.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.