Hypobetalipoproteinemia

Hypobetalipoproteinemia
Specialty	Endocrinology

Hypobetalipoproteinemia is a disorder consisting of low levels of LDL cholesterol or apolipoprotein B,^[1] below the 5th percentile.^[2] The patient can have hypobetalipoproteinemia and simultaneously have high levels of HDL cholesterol.

Notably, in people who do not have the genetic disorder hypobetalipoproteinemia, a very low cholesterol level (less than 100 mg/dl) may be a marker for poor nutrition, wasting disease, cancer, hyperthyroidism, and liver disease. In 1997 a study showed that Japanese Centenarians had tenfold increase of hypobetalipoproteinemia compared with controls.