Serum cholesterol and triglyceride reference ranges of twenty lipoprotein subclasses for healthy Japanese men and women

Aim: This epidemiological study was done to generate normal ranges for the cholesterol and triglyceride levels in serum lipoprotein subclasses isolated from healthy adults based on gender and menopausal status.

Methods: Cholesterol and triglyceride levels in 20 lipoprotein subclasses as separated by high performance liquid chromatography were measured in serum obtained from 825 fasting healthy subjects (267 men, 558 women).

Results: For serum cholesterol, 13.7% was found in very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) subclasses, 55.6% in low density lipoprotein (LDL) subclasses, and 30.4% in high density lipoprotein (HDL) subclasses. For serum triglycerides, these values were 52.1%, 27.9%, and 17.4%, respectively. Levels of cholesterol in some VLDL subclasses were inversely correlated with the levels of some HDL subclasses, while for triglycerides, elevated levels in any one subclass were generally strongly associated with elevated levels in all other subclasses. Men had significantly higher large VLDL-cholesterol levels than women (P < 0.05), while women had significantly higher small VLDL-cholesterol levels than men (P < 0.001). Women had significantly higher large LDL- and large and medium HDL-cholesterol levels than men (P < 0.001). Men had significantly higher chylomicron (CM), large and medium VLDL-, and small LDL-triglyceride levels than women (P < 0.001). Women had significantly higher very large and large HDL-triglyceride levels than men (P < 0.01). Postmenopausal women had significantly higher CM, all VLDL, and large, medium and small LDL-cholesterol levels, and significantly higher all VLDL, LDL, and HDL-triglyceride levels than premenopausal women (P < 0.001).

Conclusions: Our data document important gender and menopausal status differences in cholesterol and triglyceride subclass levels, as well as significant correlations between values in the various serum lipoprotein subclasses.