DISTRIBUTION OF LIPID VARIABLES IN SUBJECTS IN BELFAST, NORTHERN-IRELAND AND TAIYUAN, PEOPLES-REPUBLIC-OF-CHINA

To compare the plasma lipid, lipoprotein and apolipoprotein profiles o f people of Chinese and European origin, a sample of 151 male Chinese subjects was selected from Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, P R China to 202 broadly age-matched subjects in Belfast who were selected as controls in a case-control study of myocardial infarction. Mean total cholester ol (TC) was 6.15 mmol/l in Belfast and 4.28 mmol/l in Taiyuan. Low den sity lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) was much higher in Belfast. High de nsity lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) was also higher in Belfast than in Taiyuan but the ratio of HDL to TC was lower in Belfast than Taiyuan. Triglyceride (TG) levels were similiar and this was reflected in the relatively high level of apolipoprotein E (apo E) in the Chinese sampl e.