Korean Circ J 2015;45(2):141-148
 

Effects of Age, Sex, and Menopausal Status on Blood Cholesterol Profile in the Korean Population

Ji Hye Park, BS1, Myung Ha Lee, PhD2, Jee-Seon Shim, PhD3, Dong Phil Choi, PhD1,
Bo Mi Song, MSc1, Seung Won Lee, MSc1, Hansol Choi, MSc1, and Hyeon Chang Kim, MD2,3

Background and Objectives: To investigate age-specific and sex-specific distributions of blood cholesterol in the general Korean population.

Subjects and Methods: We analyzed data for 8284 men and 9246 women aged ≥10 years who participated in the fifth (2010–2012) Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Age-specific means, medians, and selected percentiles were calculated for men, premenopausal women, and postmenopausal women.

Results: Median total cholesterol (TC) level increased with age across all age groups, from 147 to 196 mg/dL in males and from 159 to 210 mg/dL in females. Triglyceride (TG) levels increased with age in females; however, in males, TG levels rapidly increased during young adulthood, peaked at 50–54 years, and then decreased. High density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) levels were higher in females than in males and decreased with increasing age in both males and females. Low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) levels increased with age across
all age groups, from 89 to 127 mg/dL in males and from 82 to 113 mg/dL in females. Lipoprotein-cholesterol fraction (TC/HDL-C, LDL-C/HDL-C, TG/HDL-C, non-HDL-C) levels increased with age in females, but increased more rapidly in males during young adulthood and decreased after middle age.

Conclusion: Blood cholesterol levels and lipoprotein-cholesterol fractions present different distributions by age, sex, and menopausal status. (Korean Circ J 2015;45(2):141-148)

KEY WORDS: Cholesterol; Triglycerides; High density lipoprotein-cholesterol; Low density lipoprotein-cholesterol; Epidemiology.