Relationship of lipoproteins, apolipoproteins, triglycerides and lipid ratios to plasma total cholesterol in young adults: the CARDIA Study

Objective To characterize the association of carrier lipoproteins, apolipoproteins, triglycerides and various lipid ratios with total cholesterol in young adults. Design Cross-sectional data from the baseline examination (1 985-1986) of The Coronary Artery Risk Development In Young Adults (CARDIA) Study, a multicenter investigation of a biracial cohort of 4941 men and women aged 18-30 years. Methods Multiple linear regression models to estimate mean levels of lipids and lipoproteins for each category of total cholesterol, stratified by race and sex and adjusted for age and education level. Results As expected, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), apolipoprotein B (ApoB), apolipoprotein A-I (ApoA-I) and triglycerides increased linearly with the level of total cholesterol in all race-sex subgroups. The LDL-C/HDL-C, ApoB/ApoA-l and LDL-C/ApoB ratio als