Objective: To describe the serum total cholesterol, lipoprotein choles
terol and triglyceride concentrations in elderly people from the SENEC
A follow-up study and report on longitudinal changes in these lipid co
ncentrations over a four-year follow-up period. Design: Longitudinal s
tudy including baseline measurements taken in 1988/1989 which were rep
eated in 1993. Subjects: In 1993 lipid concentrations were assayed in
blood serum collected from 1181 elderly men and women, born from 1913
to 1918 and living in twelve small towns in ten European countries and
one town in the USA. 1062 of these subjects had also participated in
the baseline study. Results: Mean concentrations ranged from 4.91 to 6
.72 mmol/l for total cholesterol, 1.15 to 1.64 mmol/l for HDL choleste
rol, 3.04 to 4.47 mmol/l for LDL cholesterol and 1.03 to 1.79 mmol/l f
or triglycerides. Thirty-two per cent of European men and 18% of women
had plasma total cholesterol concentrations below 5.16 mmol/l; 32% of
men and 56% of women had HDL cholesterol concentrations exceeding 1.4
2 mmol/l. Total- and HDL-cholesterol concentrations, and the HDL:total
cholesterol ratio were higher in women than in men. Despite large var
iations between towns no clear north-south gradient was observed. Yet,
lowest values for LDL cholesterol tended to be located in the south,
while the highest values for LDL cholesterol showed up in the north. C
omparisons between the 1989 and 1993 surveys revealed a significant de
crease in total cholesterol and an increase in the HDL:total cholester
ol ratio without significant variation in HDL cholesterol or triglycer
ide concentrations. Conclusion: Though serum lipid concentrations vari
ed widely across Europe, a marked decline in total cholesterol values
along with an increase in the HDL:total cholesterol ratio occurred acr
oss the SENECA towns.