DURHAM, N.C., Oct 08, 2004 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- U.S. researchers have found that African-Americans and women generally have better lipid profiles -- a key measure of heart disease -- than whites and men.

Duke University Medical Center researchers found racial and gender differences in the sizes and numbers of the particles of lipoproteins -- the components of cholesterol. The differences can determine cardiovascular disease risk and help explain why two people with the same overall cholesterol level can have markedly different degrees of cardiovascular disease.

The Duke team studied 285 sedentary and overweight men and women without a history of heart disease or diabetes. While they found no difference between African-American and white men in terms of LDL -- the "bad" cholesterol -- particle concentration, they did find that African-American women tended to have larger LDL particle sizes with lower amounts of small LDL particles than white women.

In terms of HDL -- or "good" cholesterol -- which is known to protect against cardiovascular disease, the researchers found that women not only had higher HDL levels compared to men, but also had higher amounts of the large HDL particles with a greater percentage of their total HDL being larger.

While there were no significant racial differences, there was a tendency for African-Americans to have a greater percentage of their HDL as large particles.

• More news on African-American Health
• More news on Cholesterol

Related MedlinePlus Pages:

• African-American Health
• Cholesterol