Associations of diet and alcohol intake with high-density lipoprotein subclasses.

Nutritional components from three-day records were studied in association with plasma high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, serum HDL2-mass, serum HDL3-mass, and plasma HDL apolipoproteins A-I, A-II, and D concentrations in a cross-sectional survey of 77 adult males. Correlation and regression analyses revealed that the serum concentrations of HDL3 were strongly associated with the intakes of various nutrients, whereas serum HDL2 concentrations showed only weak nutritional associations. Carbohydrate intake correlated negatively with HDL3 concentrations, and alcohol intake correlated positively with serum concentrations of HDL3 and apolipoproteins A-I, A-II, and D. These associations remained significant when adjusted for cigarette smoking, adiposity, and aerobic fitness. HDL2 did not correlate significantly with alcohol intake, total carbohydrates, or starch. HDL-cholesterol concentrations showed two distinct regions of inverse association with intake of sucrose, one involving HDL3 with sucrose between 0 and 10 g/1,000 kcal and one involving HDL2 with sucrose above 25 g/1000 kcal. Alcohol, sucrose, and starch together accounted for 36% of the variance of HDL3 concentration, but less than 5% of the variance of HDL2 concentration. Thus, serum concentrations of HDL3 and HDL2 show different relationships to major dietary components.