Association between Aerobic Exercise and High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol Levels across Various Ranges of Body Mass Index and Waist-Hip Ratio and the Modulating Role of the Hepatic Lipase rs1800588 Variant

Changes in concentrations of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) are modified by several factors. We examined the relationship between aerobic exercise and HDL-C among different categories of body mass index (BMI) and waist-hip ratio (WHR) and the impact of rs1800588 variant in the hepatic lipase (LIPC) gene. We analyzed data from 6184 men and 8353 women aged 30&ndash
70 years. Participants were grouped into two WHR categories: Normal (0 &lt
WHR &lt
0.9 for men and 0 &lt
0.8 for women) and abnormal (WHR &ge
0.9 for men and WHR &ge
0.8 for women). The BMI categories were: Underweight (BMI &lt
18.5 kg/m2), normal weight (18.5 &le
BMI &lt
24 kg/m2), overweight (24 &le
27 kg/m2), and obese (BMI &ge
27 kg/m2). Multivariate linear regression models were used to investigate associations between HDL-C and exercise. Aerobic exercise was significantly associated with higher HDL-C (&beta
= 1.18325
p &lt
0.0001) when compared with no exercise. HDL-C was significantly lower in persons with abnormal compared to those with normal WHR (&beta
= &minus
3.06689
0.0001). Compared with normal weight, overweight and obese categories were associated with lower HDL-C, with &beta
values of &minus
4.31095 and &minus
6.44230, respectively (p &lt
0.0001). Unlike rs1800588 CT and TT genotypes, associations between aerobic exercise and HDL were not significant among CC carriers no matter their BMI or WHR.