SERUM LP(A) LEVELS IN RANDOMIZED HEALTHY-MEN FROM DIFFERENT EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

Serum lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)], blood lipids, serum insulin and anthropo metric parameters were determined in randomized samples of 38-year-old men living in six European cities: Ede (The Netherlands), Deinze (Bel gium), Warsaw (Poland), Lumiar (Portugal), Verona and Naples (respecti vely in northern and in southern Italy). In total, 406 healthy men wer e studied. Serum Lp(a), blood lipids and serum insulin were measured i n one laboratory. All the anthropometric and metabolic variables consi dered were statistically different among the participating sites, with the exception of Lp(a) serum levels. In spite of the lack of overall significant inter-center differences (Kruskal-Wallis test), the subjec ts from the two Italian cities had significantly lower Lp(a) serum lev els than the subjects from Belgium and Portugal (Mann-Whitney U test, p < 0.01). In all cities the distribution of serum Lp(a) levels were h ighly skewed; the percentage of subjects with serum Lp(a) levels highe r than 30 mg/dl (i.e., the commonly accepted risk level of cardiovascu lar disease) was 6% in both Verona and Naples (Italy), 12% in The Neth erlands, 16% in Poland, 18% in Belgium and 19% in Portugal (for the la st two cities, respectively, p < 0.02 and p < 0.01 vs Italian cities, chi-square test). Neither anthropometric (body mass index, waist/hip c ircumference ratio) nor metabolic (serum lipids and insulin) parameter s showed any significant relationship with serum Lp(a) levels in any o f the sites (Spearman's rank correlation). These data support the poss ibility of a difference in serum Lp(a) levels among different European countries.