SERUM HIGH DENSITY LIPOPROTEIN CHOLESTEROL AND TOTAL CHOLESTEROL LEVELS AND OTHER CORONARY HEART DISEASE RISK FACTORS IN RURAL (PREDOMINANTLY AMISH) VERSUS URBAN POPULATIONS

摘要

Rural and urban males and females (n = 123) with dichotomous lifestyles were surveyed three times in a prospective study. Subjects were interviewed for dietary, medical and social information. Serum total cholesterol (TC) and high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL) levles were determined. Step-wise multiple regression analyses were performed for the entire sample and various sub-groups of the sample to study the interrelationships between lifestyle variables and these serum lipids. Age and gender, although not lifestyle variables, were two of the most important factors accounting for part of the variance of serum TC and HDL. Energy expenditure was negatively associated with serum total cholesterol but not only in the rural sample. Alcohol intake was strongly associated with serum lipids in males but not females; food energy intake had a stronger influence on serum HDL levels than on TC levels, and dietary cholesterol accounted for more of the variance of serum HDL than TC. Lifestyle variables were more closely associated with serum TC and HDL levels in some groups than in other groups of the sample. When studying TC and HDL in free living subjects researchers should consider different lifestyle traits as they may have important effects on these serum lipids.