Distribution of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol according to age, sex, and ethnic origin: cardiovascular disease study in Finnmark 1977

• Main Authors: Dag S Thelle, Olav H Frde, Egil Arnesen
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Finnmark
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.1027.5376; http://jech.bmj.com/content/36/4/243.full.pdf

SUMMARY As a part of a survey for cardiovascular risk factors high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) was determined in 15 942 men and women aged 20-53. Women had on average 0-24 mmol/l higher HDL-C concentration than men. The difference was of the same magnitude at all ages. For both sexes HDL-C increased with age. The increase was partly influenced by other variables affecting the HDL-C concentration. After adjusting for the effect of height, weight, cigarette-smoking, physical activity in leisure time, and ethnic origin the age-related change was more pronounced, 0- 13 mmol/l and 0*16 mmol/l difference between the youngest and the oldest age group for men and women respectively. The population comprised three ethnic groups. HDL-C did not differ among the women of different ethnic origin, but among men those of Lappish origin had higher HDL-C concentrations than the other groups. This difference was reduced after adjusting for other variables and was probably due more to external factors influencing the HDL-C concentration than specific ethnic-genetic traits. The first cardiovascular disease survey in Finnmark County was done in 1974.1 At the rescreening in 1977 high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) was included. The main purpose of the second study was to examine changes in coronary risk factors since the first screening and to establish a prospective study of sufficient size that included HDL-C. Increasing evidence that HDL-C may be a protective factor for coronary heart disease has stimulated interest in cross-sectional data, which can give information on HDL-C distribution in free-living populations and its relation to other factors. The present paper describes the distribution of HDL-C with regard to sex, age, and ethnic origin. Materials and methods A sample of men and women aged 20-53 in Finnmark were invited to attend the study. The sample sizes in different age groups are shown in