Investigations Stable Blood Cholesterol But Rising Triglyceride Levels in Turkish Adults

In 2046 men and women of the cohort of the 1990 nationwide survey on the prevalence of risk factors in Turkish adults was followed up in 1995 including measurement of plasma lipids by the Reflotron apparatus. Though total cholesterol was me asured in each, fasting triglycerides were determined in both instances in 1000 participants alone. Differences in paired values were taken into account. More than 8 % of plasma samples were validated in a reference laboratory. Half of the difference of deviation in values between the reference laboratory and that of the Reflotron was adjusted. The cohort was stratified in gender and six age groups, in addition to geographical regions. It was predicted that aging by 5 years would ra ise the concentrations of total cholesterol by 4.7 and 7 mg/di and of triglycerides by 0.7 and 8.5 mg/di in men and women, respectively. Mean values for the whole male and female cohort of total cholesterol (in mg/di) rose in the 5 years from ı 72 to 177 in men and from ı 78 to 184 in women, while triglycerides increased from 136 to 147 in men and from 116 to ı32 in women. Cholesterol mean values in all age groups 20-59 remained within the range of ±2 mg/dl of the predicted ones. In women aged 60-69 years concentrations exhibited a slight rise rather than an anticipated fall. Plasma triglycerides increased globally by 10 mg/di in men and by 8 mg/di in women. Except for males aged 20-29 and females aged 50-59 years, substantial rises were observed in all age groups. It is not known - since not measured - whether this was accompanied by a decline in HDL-cholesterol concentrations. This development which may be related to changes in diet and physical activity might have bearing on public cardiovascular health.