Table 2 Causes of secondary hypertriglyceridaemia
CategoryAetiology
Lifestyle
    Alcohol excess
    High energy (caloric) or CHOH diet
Disease or condition
    ObesityInsulin resistance
    Type 2 diabetes*VLDL overproduction, LPL deficiency
    Poorly controlled IDDMIncreased VLDL secretion driven by increased FFA and reduced LPL
    HyperuricaemiaUnknown mechanism
    Acute pancreatitisDecreased VLDL catabolism
    Viral hepatitisDecreased VLDL catabolism, impaired LPL activity
    Hypothyroidism*†
    Biliary cirrhosisAbnormal HDL due to LCAT abnormality
    Chronic renal failureDecreased VLDL catabolism, impaired LPL activity
    Nephrotic syndrome†Increased hepatic VLDL synthesis and decreased catabolism
    Cushing syndromeIncreased hepatic VLDL synthesis and decreased catabolism via LPL and HL
    LipodystrophyReduced lipolysis
    Glycogen storage diseasesHepatic VLDL overproduction
    Paraproteinaemia/MM/MGInsulin resistance due to stress hormone release
    SLEIncreased VLDL synthesis
    Pregnancy
    Stress
    Infection/inflammation
    Ileal bypass surgery
Drug‡
    Amiodarone
    Beta blockers
    Bile acid sequestrants
    Diuretics (thiazides)
    Glucocorticosteroids
    Oestrogens
    Retinoids (isotretinoin, acitretin)
    Interferons
    HIV protease inhibitors and NRTI
    Ciclosporin
    Tamoxifen
    Antipsychotics (clozapine)
  • *May cause dysbetalipoproteinaemia (type III dyslipidaemia) in the presence of homozygosity for the ε2 allele at the ApoE gene locus.

  • †Causes hypercholesterolaemia more commonly.

  • ‡The effects of these drugs tends to be modest in most patients but can be very severe in susceptible patients.80

  • Apo, apolipoprotein; CHOH, carbohydrate; FFA, free fatty acid; HDL, high density lipoprotein; HL, hepatic lipase; IDDM, insulin dependent diabetes mellitus; LCAT, lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase; LPL, lipoprotein lipase; MG, monoclonal gammopathy; MM, multiple myeloma; NRTI, nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor; SLE, systemic lupus erythematosus; VLDL, very low density lipoprotein.