title: Stability and validity of a single serum cholesterol measurement in a prospective cohort study.
abstract: The variation of serum cholesterol level was studied in a cohort of 16,281 individuals, with repeated measurements of cholesterol. The mean correlation coefficient between the two cholesterol values taken with a six-week interval on two occasions was 0.74. This correlation coefficient indicates a short-term variation of serum cholesterol, and reflects measurement errors and intra-individual fluctuations in cholesterol level, eg due to variations in dietary habits. The correlation coefficient for serum cholesterol values taken with a two-year interval was 0.66 and reflects a long-term variation. The ratio between these coefficients may be interpreted as a rough estimate of a correlation between the true cholesterol levels at a two-year interval, free from measurement errors and short-term intra-individual variations in dietary habits. The validity was assessed with the correlation between a single serum cholesterol value and mortality from myocardial infarction, in a cohort of 92,839 individuals followed-up for 14-16 years. The relative risks (RR) for death in myocardial infarction increased with increasing cholesterol levels. The RRs were in accordance with the well-established correlation between serum cholesterol and death from myocardial infarction. The results indicated a fairly high stability of the cholesterol level in blood and that the cholesterol values in the studied cohort were not less reliable than in comparable studies.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Oncology, Karolinska Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Törnberg
authors.forename: K F
authors.initials: KF
authors.lastname: Jakobsson
authors.forename: G A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Eklund
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000401:mortality; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D013548:Sweden; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D002784:Cholesterol