Journal zyxwvutsrqpon of Internal Medicine zyxwvutsrqpo 1994; 236: 251-253 Serum lipids and lipoprotein in adult Ghanaians N. K. NYARKO, K. 0. M. ADUBOFOUR,* F. OFEI,* J. 0. M. POBEE* zyxw & S. K. OWUSU* From the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research and the *Department of Internal Medicine. University of Ghana Medical School. Accra. Ghana Abstract. Nyarko NK, Adubofour KOM, Ofei, F, Pobee JOM, Owusu SK (Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research and the Department of Internal Medicine, University of Ghana Medical School, mmol L-' and 1.47 zyx f 0.50 mmol L-' in females. Accra, Ghana). Serum lipids and lipoprotein in adult Ghanaians. zyxwvutsrq 1 Intern Med 1994; 236: 251-253. of4.34f 1.12 mmol L-' was obtained for the females in this study. High-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) in Ghanaian males averaged 1.37 f0.44 There was no statistically significant difference in low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and very- Objectives. To date, no measurement of serum lipid levels in healthy adult Ghanaians have been carried out. This study was undertaken with the objective of providing reference values for serum lipids levels in the Ghanaian population. Design/setting. Fasting serum lipid levels were measured in 79 adult Ghanaians living in an urban setting. Volunteers were randomly selected from the work force of the University of Ghana in Accra. There were 54 males and 25 females in the study popu- lation. low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL-C) levels between the females and males in this study. Conclusions. Compared to other studies, our results show that populations in Europe and North America have higher levels of total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol than Ghanaians. The levels of HDL cholesterol as well as VLDL cholesterol are higher in Ghanaians than in Europeans and Americans. Further work needs to be done to compare lipid levels in urban and rural Ghanaians as well as in those with cardiovascular disorders. Results. The mean serum cholesterol (SC) for Keywords: coronary artery disease prevention, Ghanaian males was 4.2 7 f 1.00 mmol L-'. A value Ghanaians, lipoprotein, reference values. Introduction The World Health Organization (WHO) has com- mented on the emerging public health problem of coronary artery disease (CAD) in developing countries [l]. The role played by lipids and lipoprotein in the pathogenesis of CAD is well documented, and epidemiologic and clinical studies have established the atherogenicity of serum cholesterol and low- density-liprotein (LDL) cholesterol. In those populations in which the mean serum cholesterol concentration is high, prospective studies reveal a strong relationship between serum chol- esterol concentration and coronary artery disease [2-51. The role of lipids in the pathogenesis of CAD underscores the need for lipid values in the man- agement of CAD and other atherosclerosis-inducing diseases. Various surveys have been done aimed at determining the optimal levels of serum cholesterol, high-density-lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and tri- glycerides and phospholipids in different populations and in certain disease states [5-71. Patients with hypertension and diabetes mellitus are at increased risk for developing atherosclerotic heart disease. Hypertension and diabetes mellitus have been on the ascendancy in Ghana [8]. To date, no data on serum lipoprotein and lipid levels in Ghanaians are available. This study was therefore carried out to determine levels of serum cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol and triglycerides in healthy adult Ghanaians. Subjects and methods Seventy-nine randomly selected adult Ghanaian volunteers, made up of 54 males and 25 females resident in an urban setting, took part in the study. Information about subjects was obtained through 251 IMB 236 zyx 17