Cholesterol levels among Japanese Americans and other populations: Seattle Nikkei Health Study

The purpose of this study was to compare average cholesterol levels between Seattle based Japanese Americans and three other populations: U.S. population, native Japanese population and native Japanese urban workers. A total of 1,466 Japanese Americans (724 men and 742 women) participated in cardiovascular disease screening in the Seattle area during 1989 94. Data sources for comparisons are from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey for 1988-91, the results of the National Cardiovascular Disease Examination Survey in Japan for 1990, and cardiovascular disease screening conducted by the Epidemiological Arteriosclerosis Research Institute in Japan for 1989. Total cholesterol and triglyceride levels of Seattle Japanese American men and women were highest among the four populations. Among men, high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels for Seattle Japanese Americans and native Japanese were similar and fell between those of urban Japanese workers and the U.S. population. In women, the average HDL C levels were highest in the Japanese urban workers, second highest in Seattle Japanese Americans, and lowest in both the U.S. population and native Japanese population. These differences in lipid levels may be caused by both genetic and environmental factors, which are now under investigation.