Impact of body mass index on cholesterol of Japanese adults

There have been few studies that examine the relation between body mass index (BMI) and cholesterol in consideration of potential interactions between age, sex, BMI and cholesterol. We determined age-, sex- and BMI-specific cholesterol levels of Japanese adults using the 2001 health examination data (337,690 men and 293,918 women). Both total cholesterol (T-C) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels increased with age until 50 years of age in men and until 60 years of age in women. Linear regression analysis showed significant BMI-dependent increases of T-C and LDL-C in all age groups, but the regression coefficients of BMI in relation to T-C and LDL-C became lower in older age groups until 60 years of age, with the highest value at ages 20-29 years in men and at ages 30-39 years in women. This result was consistent with the result of multiple logistic regression analysis regarding the risk of having hypercholesterolaemia. Weight reduction should be more strongly recommended to younger people, especially men aged under 40 years and women aged under 50 years, to prevent developing hypercholesterolaemia.