Abstract
Dietary modification is a critical tool in the prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD). While the role of saturated fat (SFA) intake is well established in affecting LDL cholesterol concentrations, diet impacts on lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)) have been less studied. Lp(a) is a prevalent, strong, and highly heritable risk factor for CVD and a therapeutic target for CVD risk management. While significant insights have been made into the genetic regulation of Lp(a), our understanding of any metabolic impact on Lp(a) by other factors, including diets, is limited. For many years, Lp(a) was not considered to be subject to dietary regulation, but there is now clear evidence of a dietary impact, in particular variability in SFA intake, on Lp(a) concentrations. The present narrative review aims to provide an updated view on dietary regulation of Lp(a), moving beyond studies testing the effect of reducing SFA intake, to include new evidence from clinical trials on the impact of an increased sugar intake and ketogenic diets. In addition to describing an opposite effect of SFA on Lp(a) and LDL cholesterol concentrations, with a rise in Lp(a) during a reduced SFA intake, this review also provides new data on the role of apolipoprotein(a) size polymorphism, a major genetic regulator of Lp(a) concentrations. Beyond an impact on Lp(a) concentrations, the extent to which diet might impact Lp(a)'s molecular and metabolic properties including its lipidomic composition remains unknown. Taken together, evidence shows the presence of a dietary modulation of Lp(a) beyond its genetic control and points to the need to better understand Lp(a)'s cardiovascular risk factor properties, including metabolomics/lipidomics characteristics. This also raises the issue whether diet should be a component of elevated Lp(a) management, and this needs to be addressed in future studies.