Homogeneity in the relationship of serum cholesterol to coronary deaths across different cultures: 40-year follow-up of the Seven Countries Study.

Background: The aim was to investigate whether multivariate coefficients of serum cholesterol in the prediction of coronary heart disease (CHD) deaths were similar across different cultures in a long-term follow-up.

Design: Thirteen cohorts for a total of 10,157 men aged 40-59 years at entry, enrolled in seven countries (USA, Finland, the Netherlands, Italy, Serbia, Greece, Japan) were repeatedly examined and followed up for 40 years.

Methods: Serum cholesterol measured at baseline, and then on repeated occasions, was studied, using multivariate models, in relation with the occurrence of CHD deaths during a 40-year follow-up.

Results: Homogeneity of multivariate serum cholesterol coefficients was found considering cholesterol levels at baseline, as average of up to three measurements during the first 10 years, as average of up to six measurements in 35 years, using the time-dependent technique with up to three measurements in 10 years, and with up to six measurement in 35 years.

Conclusion: The strength of the association between serum cholesterol and CHD death seems homogeneous across different cultures characterized by different levels of serum cholesterol and different absolute risk of CHD death.