PLASMA LIPID AND LIPOPROTEIN PATTERN IN GREENLANDIC WEST-COAST ESKIMOS

Summary: The plasma-lipid pattern, including quantitative lipoprotein electrophoresis, was examined in 130 Eskimos (69 females, 61 males)—hunters and/or fishermen, and their wives—in the northern part of the west coast of Greenland, and consuming a predominantly meat diet rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids. Most types of lipid were decreased, compared with Danish controls and Eskimos living in Denmark. The most remarkable finding was much lower levels of pre-β-lipoprotein and consequently of plasma-triglycerides in Greenlandic Eskimos than in Danish controls. These findings may explain the very low incidence of ischæmic heart-disease and the complete absence of diabetes mellitus in Greenlandic Eskimos.