The Influence of Obesity, Drinking, Smoking and Sporting Habits on Serum HDL Cholesterol and Atherogenic Index

Serum total cholesterol (TCH), triglyceride (TG) and HDL-cholesterol (HDL-CH) were measured in 971 healthy Japanese male and LDL-cholesterol (LDL-CH) was calculated by Fried-wald's method. Atherogenic index (AI) was calculated as follows; AI1=(TCH-HDL-CH)/HDL-CH, AI2=LDL-CH/HDL-CH. Obesity index was calculated from body height and weight. Drinking, smoking and sporting habits were evaluated individually.1) The influence of obesity: TG and AI1 were correlated with obesity index (r=0.376 and 0.210) and HDL-CH was negatively correlated (r=-0.181). There was no good correlation between obesity and TCH, LDL-CH or AI2.2) The influence of drinking habit: TG, HDL-CH and AI were higher and LDL-CH was lower in the subjects with heavier drinking habit, especially in the subjects drinking more than 60-80 grams of alcohol several times a week or almost daily. No correlation was found between TCH and drinking habit. In the subjects who quitted alcohol intake, the average level of TG and HDL-CH were close to those of the drinkers, and the level of LDL-CH and AI were close to those of the nondrinkers.3) The influence of smoking habit: HDL-CH was higher and AI was lower in the non-smokers. No correlation was found between the amount of smoking and HDL-CH or AI. There was no apparent correlation between smoking and TCH, TG or LDL-CH In the subjects who quitted smoking, HDL-CH and AI were close to those of the non-smokers.4) The influence of sporting habit: TG and AI were lower and HDL-CH was higher in the subjects with sporting habit.It was concluded that obesity, drinking, smoking and sporting habits might influence the serum level of HDL-CH and atherogenic index by unknown mechanism.