Serum lipids in the young : an epidemiological view of early atherogenesis

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of mortality in the industrialized world. together accounting for about one-half of the total number of annual deaths. Coronary heart disease comprises about one·half of the cardiovascular mortality and cerebrovascular disease about one-quarter. Diseases of the circulation not only result in many lost years of life. but they also compromise the quality of life considerably. The main cause of cardiovascular diseases is atherosclerosis. Many factors are implicated in atherogenesis. but serum lipids and especially serum cholesterol appear to play an essential role. In biochemical studies cholesterol was found to be the principal lipid ingredient of the atherosclerotic lesion.,.. In animal experiments it was shown that feeding cholesterol was necessary to produce major atherosclerotic lesions 5 ·6 Clinical studies showed that patients with coronary heart disease had higher serum cholesterol concentrations than those free of this disease. 7 •8 Epidemiological investigations revealed positive relations between serum cholesterol levels and the prevalence and incidence of coronary hean disease in both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies