Triglycerides--main lipid risk factor for cardiovascular disease in women?

A 12-year longitudinal population study of 1462 women, aged 38-60, was carried out in Gothenburg, Sweden in 1968-69. Women with high initial serum triglyceride values had a higher 12-year incidence of myocardial infarction, stroke and total mortality than the others. The findings for serum triglycerides persisted for myocardial infarction, stroke and total mortality after adjustment for other possible risk factors for ischaemic heart disease such as age, systolic blood pressure, smoking, indices of obesity and serum cholesterol, while serum cholesterol did not predict any end-points studied when taking other risk factors including serum triglycerides into account.