Air Force/Texas Coronary Atherosclerosis Prevention Study (AFCAPS/TexCAPS): baseline characteristics and comparison with USA population

Background Results of the Air Force/Texas Coronary Atherosclerosis Preventi on Study (AFCAPS/TexCAPS) demonstrated that treatment with lovastatin, in a ddition to modifications of diet and lifestyle, reduced the rate of first a cute major coronary events compared with placebo in a cohort that included participants with average to mildly elevated total levels of cholesterol, a nd below average levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, women, and elderly subjects. Objective To describe the baseline characteristics of the study's cohort. Design This was a double-blind, placebo-controlled, primary-prevention tria l in which Americans with average to mildly elevated total levels of choles terol [4.65-6.83 mmol/l (180-264 mg/dl)] and no clinical evidence of athero sclerotic cardiovascular disease were randomly allocated either 20-40 mg/da y lovastatin or placebo in addition to a low-saturated fat, low-cholesterol diet. Baseline characteristics of the study cohort are described, and the characteristics of a USA reference population based upon NHANES III data ar e provided for comparison. Results The study includes 5608 men (85%) and 997 women (15%) with mean tot al cholesterol level 5.71 +/- 0.54 mmol/l (221 +/- 21 mg/dl), low-density l ipoprotein cholesterol level 3.88 +/- 0.44 mmol/l (150 +/- 17 mg/dl), high- density lipoprotein cholesterol 0.96 +/- 0.15 mmol/l (37 +/- 6 mg/dl), and median triglyceride level 1.78 +/- 0.86 mmol/l (158 +/- 76 mg/dl). The mean age is 58 years (ranges 45-73 years for men and 55-73 years for women), Th e participants are 89% white, 7% Hispanic, and 3% black. Conclusion Results from AFGAPS/TexCAPS will be applicable to large segments of populations; in the USA alone, eight million share the demographic and baseline-lipid-level characteristics of the study cohort. J Cardiovasc Risk 7:125-133 (C) 2000 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.