Clinical Chemistry, Vol 5, 458-464, Copyright © 1959 by the American Association for Clinical Chemistry

Studies of Cholesterol Methodology and Application to Population Surveys

¹ School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, California.
² Sacramento State College, Sacramento, California.
³ Newel Laboratories, Fresno, California.

Comment is made on 7 methods with respect to replicate analysis and correlation with results of the Schoenheimer-Sperry determination of serum cholesterol. Estimates of variance are tabulated for 5 of the methods in terms of twice the coefficient of variation (2CV_x); values range from 6.2% to 11.8%, averaging approximately 10%. For cholesterol standards, reproducibility of color development is somewhat better for standards equivalent to more than 200 mg./100ml.; the range of values for 2CV_x is 3.8% to 39% above 200 mg. per 100 ml.; below that level 2CV_x is 9.4% to 16.6% for photometric methods. On the basis of reproducibility and ease of performance the method of choice for the determination of total cholesterol is the Carr-Drekter.

As estimated from findings for 12 cases of atherosclerotic heart disease (ASHD) in a 4.9% sample representative of a survey of 3992 longshoremen, the incidence of ASHD is 87 per 1000 longshoremen having a total cholesterol of 230 mg./100 ml. or over; below that cholesterol level the incidence is 54 per 1000.