Heart disease marker varies by African ancestry: BRN Faculty Fellow research
Source: https://brn.utoronto.ca/heart-disease-marker-varies-by-african-ancestry-brn-faculty-fellow-research/ Parent: https://brn.utoronto.ca/announcing-the-2024-brn-ignite-grant-recipients/
< News | Wednesday, March 18, 2026
Heart disease marker varies by African ancestry: BRN Faculty Fellow research
Supported by the BRN Faculty Fellowship, Husam Abdel-Qadir will study whether higher lipoprotein(a) levels increase heart disease risk among people of West African ancestry.
Cardiovascular disease remains the second leading cause of death in Canada, after cancer.
One marker drawing increased attention is lipoprotein(a), a cholesterol-related particle found in the blood that has been linked to heart disease, stroke and aortic heart valve problems. Unlike low-density lipoprotein (LDL), known as “bad cholesterol,” lipoprotein(a) levels are largely determined by genetics and are minimally affected by diet or exercise.
Studies conducted in the United States and United Kingdom have broadly characterized Black populations as having the highest lipoprotein(a) levels compared with people of European or Asian descent.
Developing research led by Husam Abdel-Qadir, an associate professor (status-only) at the Institute for Health Policy, Management and Evaluation in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health will be studying if those higher levels correspond to a proportionally higher risk of heart disease. Abdel-Qadir’s work also shows levels vary by African ancestry, with the highest seen among people whose roots trace to West Africa.
His research seeks to answer why levels differ by African ancestry and what that means for cardiovascular health for a stronger understanding on how elevated levels should be defined, measured and interpreted across different populations.
“Our preliminary research shows that although these levels are much higher in people of West African descent, the risk of heart disease does not appear to be that much higher compared to people in other parts of the world,” says Abdel-Qadir, a cardiologist at Women’s College Hospital and Canada Research Chair in Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Outcomes.
“It raises the question if we should be applying the same cutoff to everyone, because in doing so, we may be pathologizing what is normal for people in various ancestral groups.”
The research is supported by the BRN Faculty Fellowship, established to provide research support to tenure and teaching-stream faculty at the University of Toronto. Fellows are awarded $10,000 over the course of one year to engage in multidisciplinary research and knowledge sharing across the U of T community and internationally.
As of 2021, the Canadian Cardiovascular Society recommends that every adult be tested for lipoprotein(a) at least once in their lifetime. Through the Ontario Laboratory Information System, Abdel-Qadir is working with a data set of approximately 425,000 lipoprotein(a) tests. About 108,000 of those tested were born outside of Canada. Most tests were conducted from 2022, when public health coverage for the test became available, to January 2024.
The data shows that about 50 per cent of Ontarians born in West or Central Africa have abnormal lipoprotein(a) levels, as defined by Canadian guidelines has having a value that exceeds 100 nanomoles per liter (nmol/L) or 50 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl). Those born in East or North Africa also have elevated levels, but not as high as among people born in West Africa.
The data revealed similar patterns among people of West African descent from the Caribbean. More than 50 per cent of people born in Jamaica had abnormal lipoprotein(a) levels. In Caribbean countries where mixed ancestry is more common, such as Guyana or Trinidad and Tobago, the proportion of people with elevated lipoprotein(a) levels was lower, but still higher than in other regions of the world.
“If we are saying that 50 per cent of people of African descent have abnormal levels of lipoprotein(a) it raises a question about what is actually normal for this population,” Abdel-Qadir says. “At a very basic level, it may be that we need different definitions of what is normal or abnormal for people born in different parts of the world.”
“This may unpack a different therapeutic pathway to try and avoid some of the negative effects of this type of cholesterol…”
Another goal of the project is to reframe how the data should be analyzed – and it comes at a critical time.
While there are currently no pharmaceutical therapies approved to lower lipoprotein(a) levels, several companies are developing drugs designed to switch off its production or reduce its levels in the body. A better understanding of lipoprotein(a) could also avoid its overtreatment and stigmatization, including insurance discrimination, Abdel-Qadir explains.
“This research may eventually lead us to where we can understand what is different about the quality of lipoprotein(a) and if it does behave differently in people of African descent,” Abdel-Qadir says.
“In doing so, this may unpack a different therapeutic pathway to try and avoid some of the negative effects of this type of cholesterol without necessarily turning off its production in the body.”
BRN Brilliance is a multimedia series produced by the Black Research Network. The series spotlights Black-led interdisciplinary research, teaching and collaboration at the University of Toronto.
By
Tina Adamopoulos
Categories
BRN Faculty Fellowship Medical, Health, and Life Sciences Public and Population Health
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