| Summary: | Background: The triglycerides (TG) to high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol (HDL-C) ratio (TG/HDL-C) is a well-known predictor for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) with great heritability background. The cholesteryl ester transfer protein (<i>CETP</i>) and hepatic lipase (<i>LIPC</i>) gene affect TG/HDL-C ratio. This study aims to explore the association between haplotypes (H) in <i>CETP</i> (based on 5 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs)) and <i>LIPC</i> (based on 6 SNPs) genes and the TG/HDL-C ratio and its components, among Roma and Hungarian general populations. Methods: The prevalence of haplotypes and their effect on HDL-C, TG and TG/HDL-C ratio were calculated in both populations and compared. Results: Ten haplotypes in <i>CETP</i> and 6 in <i>LIPC</i> gene were identified. Three haplotypes in <i>CETP</i> and 3 in <i>LIPC</i> have significant effect on HDL-C level, whereas two in <i>CETP</i> and 3 in <i>LIPC</i> on TG level. The H6 in <i>CETP</i> (β = 0.52, <i>p</i> = 0.015; odds ratio (OR) = 1.87, <i>p</i> = 0.009) and H5 in <i>LIPC</i> (β = 0.56, <i>p</i> < 0.001; OR = 1.51, <i>p</i> = 0.002) have a significant increasing effect on TG/HDL-C ratio and have shown higher prevalence among the Roma, as compared to Hungarian general population. The H2 in the <i>CETP</i> gene has a decreasing effect on the TG/HDL-C ratio (OR = 0.58, <i>p</i> = 0.019) and is significantly less frequent among the Roma. Conclusions: Accumulation of harmful haplotypes in <i>CETP</i> and <i>LIPC</i> genes might have a role in the elevated TG/HDL-C ratio in the Roma population, which contributes to a higher risk in the development of cardiovascular diseases.
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