Total serum cholesterol levels in Asians living in New York City: results of a self-referred cholesterol screening.
Asians historically have low total cholesterol levels and low incidence of coronary heart disease. In performing a coronary heart disease and total cholesterol screening in New York City's Chinatown, we obtained data supportive of previous studies, which focused on Japanese populations and described the influence of environment on total cholesterol. In the present study, Chinese living in Chinatown have higher levels of total cholesterol than would be expected from studies of Chinese living in Shanghai. For every age group examined, Asian-born Chinese living in Chinatown had higher total cholesterol levels than both urban and rural Chinese in Shanghai. In subjects less than or equal to 30 years of age, urban males in Shanghai had cholesterol levels of 160 +/- 34 mg/dL, compared with 206 +/- 38 mg/dL for Asian-born males in Chinatown. For females in the same age category, cholesterol levels were 162 +/- 35 mg/dL vs 224 +/- 45 mg/dL, respectively. Applying National Cholesterol Education Panel (NCEP) guidelines, the distribution of desirable, borderline-high, and high blood cholesterol levels for the Chinese in Chinatown (41%, 35%, and 23%, respectively) were similar to a group of Caucasians screened (42%, 32%, and 26%) and the group recently used to determine the prevalence of high blood cholesterol in American adults (43%, 30%, and 27%). Studies are needed to stratify the risk of coronary heart disease in other groups that traditionally have a low incidence of coronary heart disease, but which now have adopted Western lifestyles.
Pinnelas
D
D
Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Medical Center, NY 10003.
De La Torre
R
R
Pugh
J
J
Strand
C
C
Horowitz
S F
SF
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001213:Asian; D002681:China / Q000208:ethnology; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood*; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000208:ethnology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009519:New York City / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors
D002784:Cholesterol