Ketogenic diets, not for everyone

Background: The adoption of low-carbohydrate diets can lead to weight loss in many patients. However, these now widespread diets also have the potential to exacerbate hypercholesterolemia.

Objective: The objective of this study is to display the potentially harmful effects of the ketogenic diet on cholesterol levels in patients with or without underlying hyperlipidemia.

Methods: We describe 5 patients who developed marked increases in plasma cholesterol on ketogenic diets and assessed whether they had a well-described underlying genetic hyperlipidemia.

Results: Three out of 5 patients had extraordinary increases of blood cholesterol levels to over 500 mg/dL. The other 2 patients more than doubled their low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels on a ketogenic diet. One patient had an APOE E2/E2 genotype. A higher burden of common genetic polymorphisms was found in 2 patients, with no major mutations found. No potential genetic cause was seen in a fourth patient, and the fifth patient had no genetic testing. Three patients, including the one who was most hypercholesterolemic, had a marked reduction in cholesterol after reverting to a more liberal diet. One refused to change his diet but had a satisfactory low-density lipoprotein cholesterol reduction on ezetimibe.

Conclusion: These cases should serve as a caution that high-fat low-carbohydrate diets have the potential to exacerbate or cause hypercholesterolemia in patients with or without underlying genetic hyperlipidemia.