Serum lipid and apolipoprotein levels in a Nigerian population sample.

Serum lipids and apoproteins have been measured in 307 men and 235 women living around Benin City in Nigeria. Total serum cholesterol values are low compared both to White Western populations and to American Blacks. HDL-cholesterol levels, however, are comparable to values in Western and Oriental men, but lower than in Western women. A highly significant correlation exists between total cholesterol and apo B and between HDL-cholesterol and apo A-I in men and women. The low serum lipid values are related to a low dietary fat intake, almost exclusively from palm oil, in the Nigerian population.