A community study of alcohol and other factors associated with the distribution of high density lipoprotein cholesterol in older vs. younger men.

High density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) is independently and inversely correlated with the risk of coronary artery disease. In order to determine whether factors that correlated with HDL-C are similar in younger and older men, 311 men from a community sample were dichotomized into younger (30-59) and older (60-89) age groups. Older men had significantly higher HDL-C levels and were leaner and less likely to smoke cigarettes, but did not differ significantly from younger men with regard to exercise or reported alcohol consumption. Nevertheless, in univariate and multivariate analysis, alcohol was the strongest behavioral correlate of HDL-C in both younger and older men. In both younger and older men aspartate aminotransferase levels within the normal range were strongly associated with HDL-C and with alcohol intake, suggesting that the higher HDL-C levels reported in social drinkers reflect an alcohol-induced liver aberration in lipoprotein metabolism.