Objective: To report the associations of plasma triglyceride, high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) with nonlipid coronary artery disease risk factors. In particular, the associations for persons with high triglyceride and low HDL-C levels were examined.
Design: A stratified random probability sample of 29,855 men and women aged 18 to 74 years from the Canadian Heart Health Surveys (1986 to 1992) in 10 provinces. Blood samples were obtained from 18,555 participants who had fasted for 8 h or more. Plasma lipids were determined at the J Alick Little Lipid Research Laboratory, Toronto, Ontario, with standardization of the Centers for Disease Control Lipid Standardization Program, Atlanta.
Outcome measures: Fasting plasma total cholesterol, triglyceride, LDL-C and HDL-C levels.
Main results: The prevalence of men with triglyceride levels above 1.7 mmol/L and HDL-C levels below 0.9 mmol/L was 10%, compared with 3% for men with triglyceride levels below 1.7 mmol/L and HDL-C levels below 0.9 mmol/L. The prevalence of women with triglyceride levels above 1.7 mmol/L and HDL-C levels below 0.9 mmol/L was 3% compared with a prevalence of less than 1% for women with triglyceride levels below 1.7 mmol/L and HDL-C levels below 0.9 mmol/L. Even when plasma LDL-C was low at less than 3.4 mmol/L, there was an age trend for increasing prevalences of the combination of triglyceride levels 2.3 mmol/L or greater and HDL-C levels less than 0.9 mmol/L in both sexes. The prevalence of a triglyceride levels 2.3 mmol/L or greater combined with an HDL-C level below 0.9 mmol/L was increased in groups who were cigarette smokers, diabetic, hypertensive, obese or sedentary, or who had higher LDL-C levels in both sexes, and the increase was even greater in the presence of two or more of these other risk factors.
Conclusions: Among men or women with low HDL-C and high triglyceride levels, smoking, diabetes, sedentariness, hypertension and obesity were much more prevalent than among those at low risk with high HDL-C and low triglyceride levels.