Prevalence of hypercholesterolemia in black patients of a neighborhood health center.

This article presents data on total cholesterol (TC) determinations carried out in black patients of an inner-city neighborhood health center. In the pediatric group (under age 18), TC determinations were carried out only in over-weight children. In adults, they were performed routinely on all new admissions. During 1992, a total of 1158 TC determinations were made, 385 in males and 773 in females. Age-related changes in mean TC were compared between black males and females, between males in our population and those in the general population, and between females in the two populations. Age-related changes in the proportion of cases in our population also were analyzed in the desirable, borderline, and high-risk TC levels. Our objective was to determine if these data could account for the higher black mortality rates from coronary heart disease (CHD) than in the general population. The data show that mean TC levels and risk ratios are not substantially different in our population than in the general population. The differences in CHD mortality rates in the two populations, therefore, cannot be attributed to TC levels.