title: Homogeneity in the relationship of serum cholesterol to coronary deaths across different cultures: 40-year follow-up of the Seven Countries Study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The aim was to investigate whether multivariate coefficients of serum cholesterol in the prediction of coronary heart disease (CHD) deaths were similar across different cultures in a long-term follow-up.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirteen cohorts for a total of 10,157 men aged 40-59 years at entry, enrolled in seven countries (USA, Finland, the Netherlands, Italy, Serbia, Greece, Japan) were repeatedly examined and followed up for 40 years.
  
  
  METHODS
  Serum cholesterol measured at baseline, and then on repeated occasions, was studied, using multivariate models, in relation with the occurrence of CHD deaths during a 40-year follow-up.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Homogeneity of multivariate serum cholesterol coefficients was found considering cholesterol levels at baseline, as average of up to three measurements during the first 10 years, as average of up to six measurements in 35 years, using the time-dependent technique with up to three measurements in 10 years, and with up to six measurement in 35 years.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The strength of the association between serum cholesterol and CHD death seems homogeneous across different cultures characterized by different levels of serum cholesterol and different absolute risk of CHD death.
authors.affiliation: Association for Cardiac Research, Rome, Italy. menottia@tin.it
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Menotti
authors.forename: Mariapaola
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lanti
authors.forename: Daan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kromhout
authors.forename: Henry
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Blackburn
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Jacobs
authors.forename: Aulikki
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nissinen
authors.forename: Anastasios
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dontas
authors.forename: Antony
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kafatos
authors.forename: Srecko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nedeljkovic
authors.forename: Hisashi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Adachi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D044466:Asian People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood*; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000097:blood / Q000208:ethnology / Q000401:mortality*; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005060:Europe / Q000453:epidemiology; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D013997:Time Factors; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D002784:Cholesterol