Gender difference in the lipid profile and risk for coronary artery disease in healthy individuals with respect to age

Abstract

Background and Objective: Coronary artery disease or ischemic heart disease is the most common type of heart disease and cause of heart attacks. The measurement of lipids, lipoproteins and apolipoproteins has long been recognized as necessary for the diagnosis and clinical management of disorders of lipoprotein metabolism. Hence, the present study was undertaken to compare the serum lipid profile in age and sex matched subjects. Materials and Methods: Blood was collected from the subjects after an overnight fast of 12 hours. The serum total cholesterol, triglyceride, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol were estimated using commercially available kits. The lipid levels with risk for CAD were performed based on Framingham Heart Study. Statistical Analysis was done by unpaired t-test for group wise comparison and P value 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Result: Upto the age 50 years, females shows a lower total cholesterol, LDL-Cholesterol and triglyceride and high HDL-C but, lower TC/HDL-C ratio and LDL-C/ HDL-C ratio as compared to males. This relation was reversed after the age of 50 years but is not significant statistically. Conclusion: The risk for CAD with respect to lipid profile is higher in older age groups in both sexes and after the age of 50 years, the risk is more in females than males.