Cholesterol efflux as a measure of HDL functionality in humans: impact of genetics, diet and weight loss

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Increasing the levels of the good cholesterol, namely HDL, is an attractive target for CVD prevention. However, this strategy failed to reduce CVD risk, while recent evidences suggest that increasing the HDL-mediated cholesterol efflux capacity is more protective. The research studies presented in this dissertation showed that cholesterol efflux is genetically determined. However, the dietary factors investigated, i.e. theobromine, a compound found in dark chocolate, and plant sterol and stanol, as well as weight loss were not associated with an improvement in HDL-mediated cholesterol efflux.