Validation of the Modified Friedewald’s Formula to Calculate Low-density Lipoprotein Cholesterol in Bangladeshi Population

Abstract

Objective: A modification of Friedewald’s formula was proposed to calculate LDL cholesterol in Bangladeshi population up to serum triglyceride concentration of 1000 mg/dL. The aim of this study was to validate the modification of Friedewald’s formula in Bangladeshi population.Methods: Serum total cholesterol, triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations were measured in specimens obtained form 314 adult Bangladeshi subjects selected conveniently. LDL cholesterol concentrations were also calculated by modified Friedewald’s formula and original Friedewald’s formula. Results were expressed as mean ± SD and calculated LDL cholesterol was compared with measured LDL cholesterol by two-tailed paired t test and Pearson’s correlation coefficient (r).Results: The mean ± SD of measured LDL cholesterol was 138.3 ± 54.58 mg/dL. LDL cholesterol calculated by modified Friedewald’s formula and original Friedewald’s formula were 135.9 ± 59.26 mg/dL (P>0.05) and 123.5 ± 65.75 mg/dL (P<0.001) respectively. Compared to measured LDL cholesterol, calculated LDL cholesterol were 2.47 mg/ dL and 17.20 mg/dL lower for modified formula and original formula respectively. The correlation coefficient (r) with measured LDL cholesterol was 0.8601 (P<0.0001) for LDL cholesterol calculated by the modified Friedewald’s formula and 0.8565 (P<0.0001) for the LDL cholesterol calculated by the original Friedewald’s formula.Conclusion: The study validates the modified Friedewald’s formula to calculate LDL cholesterol in Bangladeshi population. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jbcps.v30i3.12463 J Bangladesh Coll Phys Surg 2012; 30: 141-144