Coronary risk factors in the coloured population of the Cape Peninsula.

A cross-sectional study of risk factors for coronary heart disease (CHD) in a random sample of 976 coloured people revealed a population greatly at risk of CHD. The major reversible risk factors--hypercholesterolaemia, hypertension and smoking--were very common, with 56% of the men and 40% of the women smoking, 18% of both men and women being hypertensive and 17% of both sexes being hypercholesterolaemic. At high cut-off points 62,8% of the men and 59,4% of the women had at least one major reversible risk factor. At lower but real levels of risk, over 80% of the population was affected. Other risk factors such as inactivity, overweight, hyperuricaemia, hypertriglyceridaemia and a positive family history of CHD were all common in this population group. A 'protective' high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level of greater than or equal to 20% of the total serum cholesterol level was found in 74,5% of the men and 81,1% of the women. A comparison with available data on other South African population risk profiles shows marked differences. The need for preventive strategies in the coloured population is clear.