High-density Lipoprotein Cholesterol In Women Research Articles

Life-style factors do not explain racial differences in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol: the Minnesota Heart Survey.

We analyzed data from a population-based survey to determine whether serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) concentrations are different in blacks and whites after controlling for life-style characteristics. We studied a total of 741 white men, 453 black men, 786 white women, and 572 black women age 35-74 years. Age-adjusted HDL-C concentrations were higher in black than white men (48.6 vs 40.8 mg/dl) and in black than white women (56.1 vs 54.0 mg/dl). Life-style characteristics associated with HDL-C in women were exogenous hormone use, average number of cigarettes smoked per day, average ounces of alcohol consumed per week, body mass index, and use of beta-blockers. Life-style characteristics associated with HDL-C levels in men included age, average number of cigarettes smoked per day, average ounces of alcohol consumed per week, body mass index, and a self-reported history of diabetes. After adjustment for life-style characteristics, black men and women had HDL-C levels 7.0 and 5.3 mg/dl higher, respectively, than whites. Body mass index was a negative confounder in women; after adjusting for body mass and age, black women had HDL-C levels 4.6 mg/dl higher than white women. These data indicate that the measured life-style factors cannot fully explain the observed differences in HDL-C between blacks and whites. These findings, which are consistent with other reports, may reflect an inability to assess life-style factors accurately and/or genetic or cultural factors yet to be determined.

Relationship between high density lipoprotein subfractions and coronary risk factors in a rural white population.

The relationship of serum high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels and of the HDL2-C and HDL3-C subfractions to several factors associated with coronary risk was examined in a cross-sectional study, which included 655 men and 731 women ages 20 to 64 years. Participants with coronary heart disease (CHD) had lower levels of HDL-C, HDL2-C, and HDL3-C; however, only HDL-C in women was significant. Maleness, body mass index, triglyceride levels, tobacco use, and carbohydrate intake (in men) were significantly inversely related to total HDL-C, while alcohol intake was significantly positively related to HDL-C. The associations were stronger for HDL2-C than for HDL3-C, except that alcohol intake in men was more strongly related to HDL3-C. The findings of this study suggest that several factors that influence CHD risk do so in part through modifying HDL2-C levels.

Human apolipoprotein A-I gene promoter polymorphism: association with hyperalphalipoproteinemia.

An apolipoprotein A-I gene promoter polymorphism, due to an adenine (A) to guanine (G) transition 78 base pairs upstream from the transcription initiation site, was studied by amplification of the corresponding region of the apoA-I gene, DNA sequencing, and allele-specific oligonucleotide hybridization. The frequency of the polymorphism was studied on female and male individuals classified into three groups according to the high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol concentration. The allelic frequencies for the A polymorphism were 0.10, 0.14, 0.27 in women and 0.08, 0.17, 0.14 in men in the lowest, in the intermediate (between 10th and 90th percentile), and the highest decile of HDL cholesterol levels, respectively. Statistical analysis showed a significant difference of allelic frequencies between the highest and the lowest deciles (P less than 0.006) and between the highest and the intermediate deciles of HDL cholesterol in women (P less than 0.04) but not in men. As the sequences surrounding the polymorphism are known to be involved in transcription modulation, it is possible that the A-G transition polymorphism may have an influence on apoA-I synthesis and, in consequence, on the HDL cholesterol levels in women.

HIGH DENSITY LIPOPROTEIN CHOLESTEROL AS A PREDICTOR OF CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE MORTALITY IN MEN AND WOMEN: THE FOLLOW-UP STUDY OF THE LIPID RESEARCH CLINICS PREVALENCE STUDY

With data from the Lipid Research Clinics Prevalence Study used as a baseline, an average of 8.4 years of mortality follow-up has been completed for 8,825 male and female participants who were at least 30 years of age at the time of the study. The participants were examined at 10 North American sites during 1972-1976. Univariate findings for high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol in the 7,569 persons initially free of coronary heart disease indicate an inverse relation with cardiovascular disease mortality for men and women. Controlling for age, low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, triglycerides, body mass index, systolic blood pressure, and smoking, multivariate analysis results indicate inverse relations between HDL cholesterol and cardiovascular disease mortality. In men, the cardiovascular disease mortality rate ratio for HDL cholesterol increments of 10 mg/dl was similar to the cardiovascular disease mortality rate ratio for LDL cholesterol increments of 30 mg/dl. In women, HDL cholesterol is more closely related to cardiovascular disease than is LDL cholesterol. HDL cholesterol is inversely related to both coronary heart disease and other cardiovascular disease mortality in both sexes, though the relation of HDL cholesterol with coronary heart disease mortality in women approached statistical significance only for the combined end point of suspect and definite cases. No relation was observed in either sex group between HDL cholesterol and noncardiovascular disease mortality. This study, only the second large prospective study evaluating the role of HDL cholesterol in women, confirms both the importance and the independence in both men and women of HDL cholesterol in the epidemiology of coronary heart disease and other cardiovascular disease mortality.

Relationships Between Plasma Lipoprotein Concentrations and Insulin Action in an Obese Hyperinsulinemic Population

Relationships have been observed between lipoprotein concentrations and insulin action. These relationships may be important in explaining the association of insulin resistance and abnormalities of lipoprotein metabolism found in obesity, diabetes, and hypertriglyceridemia. We have measured plasma lipoprotein concentrations and indices of insulin action in 85 men and 56 women, all of whom were normolipidemic and had normal glucose tolerance. The subjects were obese Southwestern American Indians (body mass index 34 +/- 1). Insulin action was measured via the hyperinsulinemic clamp with simultaneous indirect calorimetry. Triglyceride concentrations were inversely related to rates of total insulin-mediated glucose disposal (in men and women, respectively, r = -.37, P less than .01; r = -.24, P less than .10), glucose storage (r = -.31, P less than .01; r = -.25, P less than .10), increase in glucose oxidation (r = -.29, P less than .01; r = -.24, P less than .10), and, in men only, suppression of endogenous glucose production (r = -.32, P less than .01). High-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol concentration was positively related to rates of total insulin-mediated glucose disposal (r = .35, P less than .01; r = .33, P less than .05), increase in carbohydrate oxidation (r = .40, P less than .001; r = .39, P less than .001), suppression of endogenous glucose production (r = .24, P less than .05; r = .29, P less than .05), and, in men only, glucose storage (r = .35, P less than .001).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Life-style correlates of risk factor change in young adults: an eight-year study of coronary heart disease risk factors in the Framingham offspring.

This paper describes the life-style and behavioral correlates of change in coronary heart disease risk factors measured eight years apart in the young adult offspring of the Framingham Heart Study cohort. Changes in total cholesterol, lipoprotein cholesterols (high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) cholesterol), and blood pressure were observed longitudinally in 397 men and 497 women who were aged 20-29 years at entry into the study. Stepwise multiple linear regression procedures were used to identify characteristics and their changes that were significantly associated with risk factor changes in each sex. The attribute most strongly and consistently related to lipoprotein and blood pressure changes in both sexes was change in body mass index (p less than or equal to 0.01 or p less than or equal to 0.001). In addition to weight gain, increases in alcohol consumption in men (p less than or equal to 0.001) and beginning oral contraceptive use in women (p less than or equal to 0.01) were associated with increases in blood pressure over the study period. Weight loss, stopping or decreasing cigarette consumption (p less than or equal to 0.01), increasing alcohol intake (p less than or equal to 0.01), and, in women, discontinuing oral contraceptive use (p less than or equal to 0.01) also were independently related to improvements in lipoprotein profiles during follow-up. After adjustment for all life-style correlates of risk factor change, simple self-assessments of physical activity or activity change were negatively associated with changes in VLDL cholesterol (p less than or equal to 0.01) and the total cholesterol/HDL cholesterol ratio (p less than or equal to 0.05) in men and positively associated with changes in HDL cholesterol (p less than or equal to 0.05) in women. Sociodemographic and behavioral characteristics that made a further independent contribution to increases in the total cholesterol/HDL cholesterol ratio in men were blue-collar occupation and trait Type A behavior pattern (p less than or equal to 0.05). Unexplained, but provocative, results of this study included the associations of interim vasectomy with increases in total cholesterol in men (p less than or equal to 0.05) and of number of livebirths with decreases in total cholesterol and HDL cholesterol in women (p less than or equal to 0.01). These findings are among the first to offer prospective evidence which suggests that habits and behaviors during young adulthood have a substantial effect on lipid and lipoprotein profiles in men and women.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Aerobics for all ages: a broadband approach to a diverse university population.

Abstract “Does Coffee Raise Serum Cholesterol?” Dag S. Thelle, Egil Arnesen, and Olav H. Forde. We examined the relation between coffee consumption and levels of serum total cholesterol, high-density-lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, and triglycerides in a population of 7213 women and 7368 men between the ages of 20 and 54 years. Coffee consumption was positively associated with levels of total cholesterol and triglycerides in both sexes and was inversely associated with levels of HDL cholesterol in women. The coffee-cholesterol relation remained strong and statistically significant (P < 0.0001 in a covariance analysis) after adjustment for age, logarithm of body-mass index, physical activity in leisure time, cigarette smoking, and alcohol consumption. After adjustment for all covariates, the total cholesterol level was 5.56 ± 0.05 mmol per liter (mean ± S.E.) in men drinking less than one cup of coffee a day, as compared with 6.23 ± 0.03 mmol per liter in those consuming more than nine cups a day. The corresponding figures for women were 5.32 ± 0.05 and 5.92 ± 0.04 mmol per liter. None of the other variables considered could explain this relation. We conclude that coffee consumption is a major contributor to the variation in levels of total cholesterol. (New England Journal of Medicine 1983;308:1454–7.) “Cigarette Smoking and Dysplasia and Carcinoma In Situ of the Uterine Cervix,” Edwin Trevathan, et al. We conducted a case-control study of cigarette smoking and dysplasia and carcinoma in situ of the uterine cervix. Cases were black women 17 to 55 years of age who were attending a dysplasia clinic and had biopsy-confirmed cervical pathologic conditions. Controls were women who were attending the family planning clinic at the same hospital and who had at least two normal Papanicolaou smears. Results were adjusted for age, number of sexual partners, age at first intercourse, socioeconomic status, and oral contraceptive use. Cigarette smoking was significantly associated with carcinoma in situ, severe dysplasia, and mild-moderate dysplasia (relative risks, 3.6, 3.3, and 2.4, respectively). Cumulative exposure to cigarette smoking (as measured by pack-years smoked) was strongly related to the risk of these conditions; women with 12 or more pack-years of exposure had relative risks of 12.7, 10.2, and 4.3, respectively, for the three conditions. There was some evidence that the risk was greatest in women who began smoking in their early teenage years. A reduction in the risk of cervical cancer appears to be another inducement for young women not to smoke. (Journal of the American Medical Association 1983;250:499–502.)

Nationwide survey of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol among farmers in Japan

A total of 2,134 blood samples (788 from men and 1,346 from women), were collected nationwide from adult farmers in Japan (44 regions in 21 prefectures) during the winters of 1978 through 1981. They were analyzed in a single laboratory for high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL) by means of a precipitation method. The serum HDL level was 47.3 ± 14.2 mg/100 ml (mean ± SD; n = 788) in men and 47.4 ± 12.8 mg/100 ml ( n = 1,346) in women. Sex and age differences in HDL were not statistically significant ( P > 0.10). Alcohol consumption was associated with elevated HDL levels in both sexes; the association was statistically significant only in men ( P < 0.05) and was positively correlated with daily alcohol consumption ( P < 0.05). Conversely, smoking habits were negatively ( P < 0.05) associated with HDL in men. The comparison of HDL in the nondrinking and nonsmoking population revealed that HDL in women (47.0 ± 12.8 mg/100 ml; n = 900) did not differ significantly ( P > 0.10) from the male values (45.3 ± 12.5 mg/100 ml; n = 60). When 23 nondrinking and nonsmoking married couples were selected from 348 couples, for whom information on drinking and smoking habits was available, the HDL (±SD) was essentially the same in husbands (44.2 ± 12.8 mg/100 ml) and in wives (43.7 ± 9.5 mg/100 ml). In the blood samples collected from 535 subjects once in winter and once in summer, HDL concentration was significantly higher in summer than in winter ( P < 0.01 in both men and women); the HDL means (± SD) in winter and in summer were 48.1 ± 14.3 and 50.9 ± 11.3 mg/100 ml, respectively, for men, and 47.0 ± 12.0 and 50.3 ± 11.0 mg/100 ml, respectively, for women. The mean HDL distributed across a fairly wide range depending on the 44 regions studied. Maximum-minimum mean values were 58.3–33.1 mg/100 ml in men and 59.7–37.4 mg/100 ml in women, and the regional difference was statistically significant ( P < 0.01) both in men and women. Furthermore, a significant inverse relation ( P < 0.05) was observed in men between the mean regional HDL values and standardized regional ratios of mortality from coronary heart diseases.

The Tromsø heart study. Does coffee raise serum cholesterol?

We examined the relation between coffee consumption and levels of serum total cholesterol, high-density-lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, and triglycerides in a population of 7213 women and 7368 men between the ages of 20 and 54 years. Coffee consumption was positively associated with levels of total cholesterol and triglycerides in both sexes and was inversely associated with levels of HDL cholesterol in women. The coffee-cholesterol relation remained strong and statistically significant (P less than 0.0001 in a covariance analysis) after adjustment for age, logarithm of body-mass index, physical activity in leisure time, cigarette smoking, and alcohol consumption. After adjustment for all covariates, the total cholesterol level was 5.56 +/- 0.05 mmol per liter (mean +/- S.E.) in men drinking less than one cup of coffee a day, as compared with 6.23 +/- 0.03 mmol per liter in those consuming more than nine cups a day. The corresponding figures for women were 5.32 +/- 0.05 and 5.92 +/- 0.04 mmol per liter. None of the other variables considered could explain this relation. We conclude that coffee consumption is a major contributor to the variation in levels of total cholesterol.

Exercise does not change high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in women after ten weeks of training

Effects of a 10 wk, three times per wk individualized bicycle ergometer training program were investigated in 16 healthy sedentary women 19–29 yr-old who were not taking oral contraceptives or other medications. Twelve women were in an interval type program, 6 in a continuous program, all performing 30 min exercise per session at 70% maximum heart rate reserve. Conditioning responses did not differ between the training regimens. Training produced increases in maximum oxygen uptake and physical work capacity. Percent body fat determined by underwater weighing was significantly reduced as was resting heart rate, after the training program. Maximum heart rate was unchanged. Despite changes in “fitness” variables, post-training values of high density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides did not differ from pretraining. High-density lipoprotein cholesterol was significantly reduced at 2 and 5 wk of training and returned to control levels at 10 wk. Exercise conditioning leading to improved physical fitness in healthy women may not be associated with increments in high density lipoprotein cholesterol levels.

Effect of a controlled exercise program on serum lipoprotein levels in women on oral contraceptives

The effects of a 10-wk individualized bicycle ergometer interval training program were investigated in a group of 13 sedentary women on a specific oral contraceptive (50 μg mestranol, 1 mg norethisterone) to determine if, like men on physical training, their high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels would increase. Six additional women on the oral contraceptive served as a nonexercising control group. All subjects were between 18 and 30 yr and were nonsmokers. Diet and alcohol intake were stable throughout the study period, and were monitored throughout. The interval training program was three times per week, 30-min exercise per session, at 70% maximum heart rate reserve (resting heart rate + 0.7 × [maximum heart rate-resting heart rate]). Training produced increases ( p < 0.05) in maximum oxygen uptake. Body weight was unchanged. However, unlike similar training programs with males, there were no significant changes in plasma high-density lipoprotein cholesterol or triglycerides. In women receiving estrogen progestin oral contraceptives, consistent exercise programs may fail to elevate high density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, consistent with an interaction of sex hormone-exercise effects and/or with the less marked effect of exercise on high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in women.

Increased platelet aggregation and decreased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in women on oral contraceptives

In vivo platelet function, serum total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL), and serum triglycerides (TG) were determined in 26 women starting oral contraceptives (OCA). Studies were run prior to, and after one and two months of therapy. Platelet aggregation time decreased by 50 percent or more in eight of the 26 women from a pre-experimental mean value of 387 ± 136 seconds. TC did not vary but after the women were on medication for two months. HDL decreased from 56 ± 14.4 mg/dl to 52 ± 12.3 mg/dl (p < 0.05). There was a progressive increase in TG under treatment, 74 ± 23.3 mg/dl on the pre-experimental measurement to 93 ± 31.0 mg/dl after two months of therapy (p < 0.005). Women planning to use OCA might best be advised to have aggregation and serum lipid studies done before and early in usage.