A minor allele of the haplotype located in the 19q13 loci is associated with a decreased risk of hyper-LDL-cholesterolemia, and a balanced diet and high protein intake can reduce the risk

Table 1 General characteristics of the study population according to serum LDL concentration

	Men (n = 10,086)		Women (n = 18,086)
	Low-LDL¹ (n = 9073)	High-LDL² (n = 1013)	Low-LDL¹ (n = 15,336)	High-LDL² (n = 2750)
Age (years)³	54.9 ± 8.4	55.8 ± 8.1^**	52.5 ± 7.7	56.0 ± 6.7^***
Body mass index (kg/m²)³	24.3 ± 2.7	25.0 ± 2.6^***	23.6 ± 2.9	24.1 ± 2.9^***
Waist circumference (cm)³	85.4 ± 7.5	87.3 ± 7.1^***	78.0 ± 8.2	79.3 ± 7.8^***
Hip circumference (cm)³	96.0 ± 5.5	96.0 ± 5.5	93.6 ± 5.6	93.1 ± 5.6^***
Serum total cholesterol (mg/dL)³	187 ± 29.8	231 ± 44^***	192 ± 25	240 ± 40^***
Serum HDL cholesterol (mg/dL)³	48.8 ± 11.7	49.4 ± 10.8	54.9 ± 13	55.5 ± 39^*
Serum LDL cholesterol (mg/dL)³	108 ± 27	152 ± 44^***	114 ± 24	161 ± 12^***
Ratio of LDL and HDL³	2.19 ± 0.76	3.02 ± 1.14^***	2.34 ± 0.67	3.20 ± 0.98^***
Serum TG (mg/dL)³	148 ± 104	153 ± 95	113 ± 74	121 ± 65^***
Plasma glucose (mg/dL)³	98.5 ± 22.2	100 ± 24^*	91.7 ± 21.5	94.2 ± 20.5^***
Cardiovascular disease⁴ (number, %)	523 (5.76)	67 (6.61)	443 (2.89)	93 (3.38)^*
Myocardial infarction (%)	370 (4.01)	45 (4.44)	319 (2.08)	66 (2.40)
Stroke (%)	153 (1.68)	20 (1.97)	124 (0.81)	27 (0.98)

The values represent means ± standard deviations or number of the subjects (percentage of each group). ¹ Low serum LDL cholesterol concentrations < 160 mg/dl; ² High serum LDL cholesterol concentrations ≥160 mg/dl and/or taking lipid-lowering medicine;
Significantly different from Low-LDL group in men and women at ^*P < 0.05; ^**P < 0.01; ^***P < 0.001

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