Smoking Status and Lipid Levels in Adults of Different Ethnic Origins: The Jerusalem Lipid Research Clinic Program

Abstract

Halfon S-T (Department of Medical Ecology, The Hebrew University, Hadassah Medical School, POB1172, Jerusalem, 91–000, Israel), Green M S and Heiss G. Smoking status and lipid levels in adults of different ethnic origins: the Jerusalem Lipid Research Clinic Program. International Journal of Epidemiology 1984; 13: 177–183.The relationship between cigarette smoking and plasma lipids and lipoproteins was examined in a random sample of 1115 male and 563 female adult participants in the Jerusalem Lipid Research Clinics Program. Differences in plasma lipids and lipoproteins, cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, and body mass index were demonstrated between the four country of origin groups in both sexes. Using multiple linear regression analysis, an inverse association was shown between smoking and HDL cholesterol, significant only in females (p<0.001). Potential confounding variables—Quetelet‘s index of body mass, alcohol consumption, age, and country of origin groups—revealed only a weak effect on the smoking-HDL-cholesterol association. Examination of an interaction between origin group and smoking showed the same smoking-lipid level association in each of the four country of origin groups, and in both sexes. A strong association was found between smoking and LDL-cholesterol only in females (p<0.01). Triglycerides and VLDL-cholesterol showed a weak association with smoking in this study.