Sex Difference in High Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol in Six Countries

• Published in: American journal of epidemiology Vol. 143; no. 11; pp. 1100 - 1106
• Main Authors: Davis, C. E., Williams, D. H., Oganov, R. G., Tao, S.-C., Rywik, S. L, Stein, Y., Little, J. A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cary, NC Oxford University Press 01.06.1996
• Subjects: alcohol drinking; Anthropology. Demography; Arteriosclerosis - blood; Arteriosclerosis - etiology; Biological and medical sciences; body mass index; Canada; China; Cholesterol, HDL - blood; Confounding Factors (Epidemiology); Female; HDL cholesterol; Human physiology applied to population studies and life conditions. Human ecophysiology; Humans; Israel; lipoproteins; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Poland; Population Surveillance; Russia; Sex Characteristics; sex factors; smoking; United States; Canada; Asia; Eurasia; United States; Europe; China; America; Poland; Israel; North America; Russia; Human; Cholesterol HDL; Sex; Woman; Lipoprotein HDL; Epidemiology; Comparative study; Public health
• ISSN: 0002-9262; 1476-6256
• DOI: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a008686

It is known that women have higher levels of high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol than men. The authors examined the association between HDL cholesterol and biologic sex in 8, 631 women and 10, 690 men aged 45–54 years from six countries studied between 1972 and 1989. The variation in the sex difference for HDL cholesterol was significant; the smallest difference (0.06 mmol/liter) was seen in China and the largest (0.40 mmol/liter) in Canada. Adjustment for differences in body mass index, smoking, alcohol use, and heart rate reduced but did not eliminate the variability. The sex difference in HDL cholesterol levels, usually assumed to be due to biologic factors, differs across cultures and may be related to environmental factors. Am J Epidemiol 1996; 143: 1100–6.