High-density lipoprotein cholesterol in coronary artery disease patients: is it as low as expected?
OBJECTIVE
Epidemiological studies demonstrated that the high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels in Turkish people are lower compared to other populations. In the present study, the HDL cholesterol levels in subjects with or without angiographically documented coronary artery disease (CAD) were compared to assess whether HDL cholesterol levels were as low as expected.


METHODS
A total of 420 consecutive patients with age of > or =40 years (160 female, 260 male) undergoing coronary angiography were included in the study. Patients receiving fibric acid derivatives or niacin were excluded. Coronary artery disease group consisted of those patients with any atherosclerotic lesions in coronary angiography, and non-CAD group consisted of patients with no such lesions.


RESULTS
Average HDL cholesterol levels were 45.0+/-10.5 mg/dl (44.4+/-10.9 mg/dl in men, 46.5+/-9.6 mg/dl in women) in CAD group, and 47.7+/-9.0 mg/dl (45.5+/-8.4 mg/dl in men, 48.9+/-9.2 mg/dl in women) in non-CAD group (p<0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Compared to non-CAD patients, patients with CAD had lower HDL cholesterol levels, but in general HDL cholesterol levels were not as low as to be expected from epidemiological studies.
Uzunlulu
Mehmet
M
Department of Internal Medicine, SSK Göztepe Training Hospital, 34732, Istanbul, Turkey. mehmetuzunlulu@yahoo.com
Oğuz
Aytekin
A
Tigen
Kürşat
K
D000328:Adult; D000792:Angiography; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood*; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000097:blood* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D050356:Lipid Metabolism; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology
D015415:Biomarkers; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL