[Lipid values in a rural community]

In 1987 the population of a rural community in Tyrol aged 20 to 74 years was screened for plasma lipids (cholesterol, HDL cholesterol and triglycerides). The mean cholesterol value was 205.8 mg/dl (5.31 mml/l) in men and 207.9 mg/dl (5.37 mmol/l) in women. These values seem to be the lowest so far recorded for population-based cholesterol values in Austria. This might be partly explained by an intensive risk factor intervention programme which has been implemented in this community throughout the past ten years. HDL cholesterol was significantly higher in women (63.7 mg/dl or 1.64 mmol/l) than in men (51.1 mg/dl or 1.32 mmol/l). The opposite was true for non-fasting triglycerides, with mean values of 186.3 mg/dl (2.1 mmol/l) in men, and 122.1 mg/dl (1.4 mmol/l) in women.