Population, gender, and ethnic variability in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels has been documented in studies of white individuals and African-Americans in the United States and of Turkish subjects.^1,2 A statistically significant gender-specific higher mean HDL-C level occurs in African-American men compared with white men in the United States.¹ Turkish men and women have substantially reduced levels of HDL-C compared with other populations that have been studied.²

NHANES III, 1988–1994 (unpublished data).