Plasma high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, total cholesterol and triglyceride levels in 17-year-old Jewish residents of Jerusalem: a preliminary report. The Lipid Research Clinics Program Prevalence Study.

Preliminary data on plasma high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, total cholesterol and triglyceride levels in 2565 teenage Jerusalem residents attending a military medical examination were analyzed. Mean HDL cholesterol levels were highest among male and female subjects whose fathers had immigrated from Europe and the Americas and lowest in those of Asian and of North African origin. Second-generation Israelis ranked intermediate between the Europeans and the other two groups. Total cholesterol levels were lowest in teenagers of both sexes whose fathers had come from North Africa, highest in subjects of European and of Israeli origin and intermediate in the Asians. Triglyceride levels were also lowest among North Africans of both sexes, but the Asian and Israeli groups had higher mean values than the Europeans. These findings show that patterns of lipid and lipoprotein levels previously observed in adult immigrants persist in a generation of native-born Israelis.