High density lipoprotein cholesterol as a determinant factor in coronary heart disease in Africans.

A study of the lipid profile of 200 normal Nigerian subjects (Group A) shows a steady increase in the total cholesterol and triglyceride values with increasing age in both sexes, while the high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and percent HDL cholesterol values show a steady decrease with increasing age in both sexes. A similar study of 160 patients with high-risk factors (Group B), ie, patients with hypertension, diabetes mellitus, cigarette smokers, and obese patients, shows significantly higher values of mean triglyceride than in the normal subjects (P less than 0.001). The HDL cholesterol and percent HDL cholesterol values are significantly lower in the high risk patients than in the normal subjects (P less than 0.001). A study of the lipid profile of 15 Nigerian patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) (Group C) shows significantly lower in the high-risk patients than in the percent HDL cholesterol than normal subjects (P less than 0.001). These values were also found to be significantly lower in Group C patients than in Group B patients (P less than 0.01). A comparison of the lipid profile of normal Nigerian subjects with those of black Americans shows that the total cholesterol values of normal black Americans are significantly higher than those of normal Nigerians of comparable age and sex (P less than 0.001). Although there is no significant difference in the HDL cholesterol values of both black American and Nigerian males and females, the values of the percent HDL cholesterol of black Americans are significantly lower (P less than 0.01) than those of Nigerians of comparable age and sex.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)