Do Low Serum HDL-Cholesterol Levels Constitute a Risk Factor for Stroke?
HDL particles promote the transport of extrahepatic cholesterol back to the liver. A reduction in the ‘reverse: cholesterol transport’ has been proposed as a mechanism ‘ to account for the strong relationship between low HDL-; cholesterol levels and CAD. However, whether the activity : of the reverse cholesterol transport correlates to HDL-cholesterol levels remains to be established. The predictive power of low HDL-cholesterol concentrations in serum for CAD, independently of other risk factors, has been well demonstrated in numerous epidemiological studies involving various populations [Gordon el al., 1997; Gordon et al., 1986; Assmann and Schulte, 1992; Pocock et al., 1989]. In most case-control studies, HDL-cholesterol level have been found to be inversely correlated with the risk of stroke [Qizibash et al., 1992]. In the prospective Copenhagen City Heart study [Lindenstrom et al., 1994], for instance, a significant negative log linear association was obtained, both for men and wom
