Markers / Gene
LPA
One position in this gene is readable from a home DNA test.
Lipoprotein(a), the cholesterol nobody measures
rs3798220 · chr6:160,961,137 · T/C · evidence: established
Lp(a) is a cholesterol-carrying particle whose level is set almost entirely by genetics and barely moves with diet, exercise or statins. High Lp(a) is a genuinely independent risk factor for heart disease, and it is not on a standard cholesterol panel unless you ask.
| If you carry | What it means |
|---|---|
| No copies | You do not carry it, though other variants can still raise Lp(a) |
| One copy | One copy, and asking for an Lp(a) blood test is the clear next step |
| Two copies | Two copies, and an Lp(a) blood test is the clear next step |
| Ancestry group | C (the effect version) | |
|---|---|---|
| African | 0.5% | |
| American | 21.6% | |
| East Asian | 8.8% | |
| European | 1.0% | |
| South Asian | 0.2% |
1000 Genomes Project phase 3, via Ensembl, retrieved 2026-09-23. These groupings are coarse and flatten a great deal of internal diversity, particularly within Africa. A variant being common somewhere tells you where a piece of your ancestry probably comes from, and nothing else.
Where this gene fits
If you have taken a home DNA test, these positions are already in your file.
Read my file