Plasma lipids and lipoproteins in elderly Japanese-American men.

Knowledge about blood lipids in older individuals is limited. In the Lipoprotein Study of the Honolulu Heart Program, plasma cholesterol, triglyceride, and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) were measured during 1980 and 1981 in Japanese-American men over 60 years of age. In addition, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) was estimated via a regression model. Age-related differences in mean lipid levels between the youngest (60 to 64 years) and the oldest (75 years and older) groups included a decrease in total cholesterol from 214 to 207 mg/dL and plasma triglyceride from 188 to 144 mg/dL. High density lipoprotein cholesterol rose from 47 to 49 mg/dL and LDL was relatively stable (137 and 135 mg/dL, respectively). Age-adjusted total cholesterol tended to significantly increase with increasing body mass index and hematocrit but was not significantly related with systolic blood pressure, physical activity index, cigarettes per day, or alcohol intake. Among those variables HDL-C decreased significantly with increasing body mass index and hematocrit and increased significantly with increasing alcohol intake. Compared with elderly white men in the Lipid Research Clinic Program, total cholesterol values tended to be slightly higher and triglyceride values were substantially higher, whereas HDL and LDL values were appreciably lower. Both cholesterol and triglyceride values were substantially higher than values reported from Japan from men in these age groups.