Blood lipids in a healthy Karachi population.

Serum levels for cholesterol and triglycerides were estimated in an apparently normal healthy population of Karachi, aged between 4 and 59 years. In total, there were 632 subjects, 322 males and 310 females. Hypercholesterolemia was defined as a cholesterol level greater than 6.2 mmol l-1 (240 mg dl-1) in subjects above 20 years of age. In the age groups 20-39 and 40-59 years hypercholesterolemia was present in 26-41% of the males and 10-38% of the females. When triglyceride levels of more than 2.8 mmol l-1 (250 mg dl-1) were taken as abnormal for healthy males and females, 0-2% of the females and 10-25% of the males above 20 years of age were hypertriglyceridemic. The mean cholesterol levels in the age groups 4-9 and 10-19 years varied from 4.4 to 4.9 mmol l-1 (169.8 to 189.1 mg dl-1).