High-density lipoprotein cholesterol: methods and clinical significance.

The known limitations and advantages of methods for determining serum high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol concentration are reviewed with special emphasis on the applicability of each method to clinical medicine. The evidence for and against the relevance of serum HDL cholesterol to the prediction of the likelihood of an individual man or woman developing clinically evident ischemic heart disease is discussed. The possibility that HDL subfractions may be more relevant to this issue is also discussed. Information about serum HDL cholesterol concentration in diseases other than ischemic heart disease is reviewed. The effect of diet, body-weight, exercise, cigarette-smoking, alcohol intake, and hyperlipoproteinemia and the effect of modification of these factors on serum HDL cholesterol levels is discussed. Finally, a practical approach to the patient with a low concentration of serum HDL cholesterol is suggested.