LIPID AND CARBOHYDRATE METABOLIC RISK MARKERS FOR CORONARY HEART-DISEASE AND BLOOD-PRESSURE IN HEALTHY NONOBESE PREMENOPAUSAL WOMEN OF DIFFERENT RACIAL ORIGINS IN THE UNITED-KINGDOM

Metabolic risk markers for coronary heart disease (CHD) were determine d in apparently healthy females of differing racial origins residing i n the United Kingdom. The females were of black (n = 122), Oriental (n = 114), South Asian (n = 128), and white (n = 271) origin, premenopau sal, non-obese, and aged 16 to 45 years. In comparison to whites, Sout h Asians had lower serum high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol an d HDL(2) cholesterol and higher fasting and oral glucose tolerance tes t plasma insulin responses. Black females had higher fasting plasma an d oral glucose tolerance test insulin and lower serum triglyceride and glucose compared with white females. Orientals differed from whites i n having higher fasting and oral glucose tolerance test insulin concen trations. Resting systolic or diastolic blood pressures, total serum c holesterol, HDL(3) cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) chol esterol did not differ between groups. Whereas previous studies have d emonstrated similar differences in representative samples from differe nt ethnic communities, our results clearly demonstrate that difference s also exist in young healthy females, individuals considered to have the least risk of CHD. Copyright (C) 1996 by W.B. Saunders Company