Background: Both indices of obesity and lipoprotein subfractions contribute to coronary heart disease risk. However, associations between indices of obesity and lipoprotein subfractions remain undetermined across different ethnic groups.

Objective: This study aims to examine the associations of indices of obesity in Japanese Americans, African Americans, and Koreans with lipoprotein subfractions.

Methods: A population-based sample of 230 Japanese American, 91 African American, and 291 Korean men ages 40 to 49 was examined for indices of obesity—that is, visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue (VAT and SAT, respectively); waist circumference; and body mass index—and for lipoprotein subfractions by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Multiple regression analyses were performed in each of the 3 ethnic groups to examine the associations of each index of obesity with lipoprotein.

Conclusions: VAT had significant positive associations with total and small low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and a significant negative association with large high-density lipoprotein (HDL) in all 3 ethnicities (p < 0.01). SAT, waist circumference, and body mass index had significant positive associations with total and small LDL in only Japanese Americans and Koreans, whereas these indices had significant inverse associations with large HDL in all ethnic groups (p < 0.01). Compared with SAT, VAT had larger R2 values in the associations with total and small LDL and large HDL in all 3 ethnic groups. VAT is significantly associated with total and small LDL and large HDL in all 3 ethnic groups. The associations of SAT, waist circumference, and body mass index with lipoprotein subfractions are weaker than the associations of VAT in all 3 ethnic groups.