Relation of serum cholesterol and triglycerides to the risk of acute myocardial infarction, cerebral stroke and death in eastern Finnish male population.

A random population sample from two countries of eastern Finland was studied in 1972, measuring eg the serum total cholesterol and triglycerides, blood pressure, and smoking. The participation rate among men aged 30 to 59 was 92%. Men who had had a myocardial infarction, angina or cerebral stroke in the preceding 12 months were excluded. During the seven-year follow-up 211 men had an acute myocardial infarction (AMI), 59 men had a cerebral stroke and 185 men died of any disease. The serum total cholesterol (greater than or equal to 8.0 mmol/l) had a positive association with the risk of AMI (relative risk RR = 2.8, 95% Cl = 1.8-4.3) and the risk of death (RR = 2.2, 95% Cl = 1.3-3.7) among men aged 30-49 but only with the risk of AMI (RR = 2.0, 95% Cl = 1.3-3.1) among those aged 50-59 based on multiple logistic models including also age, serum triglycerides, diastolic blood pressure, smoking and obesity. Serum triglycerides (greater than or equal to 2.8 mmol/l) had a positive risk factor-adjusted association with the risk of cerebral stroke (RR = 2.7, 95% Cl = 1.0-7.1) among men aged 30-49, but no independent association with the risk of AMI or death.