ASSOCIATIONS OF AGE, ADIPOSITY, ALCOHOL INTAKE, MENSTRUAL STATUS, ANDESTROGEN THERAPY WITH HIGH-DENSITY-LIPOPROTEIN SUBCLASSES

We used nondenaturing polyacrylamide gradient gel electrophoresis to e xamine the associations of age, adiposity, alcohol intake, and exogeno us estrogen with high-density lipoprotein (HDL) subclasses in 427 memb ers of 51 principally Mormon kindreds. The absorbency of protein stain was used as an index of mass concentrations at intervals of 0.01 nm w ithin five HDL subclasses: HDL3c (7.2 to 7.8 nm), HDL3b (7.8 to 8.2 nm ), HDL3a (8.2 to 8.8 nm), HDL2a (8.8 to 9.7 nm), and HDL2b (9.7 to 12 nm). Age and alcohol intake were obtained from questionnaires, and bod y mass index was computed from clinic measurements as weight (kg)/heig ht (m)2. The results suggest that HDL3b concentrations were higher aft er menopause than before. Adult men (greater-than-or-equal-to 18 years old) had significantly higher HDL3c and HDL3b and significantly lower HDL2b and HDL2a levels than younger boys. Compared with the women, ad ult men had higher levels of HDL3c and HDL3b and lower levels of HDL2b , HDL2a, and larger-diameter HDL3a particles. There were no significan t differences between the HDL profiles of women and younger boys, sugg esting that the divergence in HDL occurs during puberty. Eighty-eight percent of the increase in HDL associated with estrogen replacement in postmenopausal women occurred within HDL3a and HDL2a. Reported alcoho l intake in adult men correlated with two HDL regions: one within the HDL2b region and a second within the HDL3a/2a region, whereas in women the positive correlation between alcohol and HDL levels was within th e HDL2b region only. In both men and premenopausal adult women, increa sing levels of body mass index were associated with higher levels of H DL3b and lower levels of HDL2b. Statistical adjustment for HDL cholest erol levels eliminated the significant relations of alcohol with HDL s ubclasses in both men and women. The adjustment did not eliminate the significant relations of age and body mass index to HDL3c and HDL3b. T hus, gradient gel electrophoresis of HDL subclasses appears to identif y important physiological relations that are independent of HDL choles terol levels.