Diagnostic Criteria for Dyslipidemia - Executive Summary of Japan Atherosclerosis Society (JAS) Guideline for Diagnosis and Prevention of Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Diseases for Japanese

Abstract

Epidemiological studies have shown that the incidence of coronary artery disease increases as the LDL- C, TC1-9), and TG10, 11) levels rise and the HDL-C level lowers5, 8, 12) both in Japan and in Western countries (Fig.1). At present, prevalence of coronary artery disease in Japan is much lower than that in Western countries13-16). However, recent increases in the LDL-C and TC levels in Japanese associated with so-called Westernization of diet implies future increases in coronary artery disease. In this guideline, therefore, criteria for the diagnosis of dyslipidemia were defined as in Table 1, with a greater emphasis on the prevention of coronary artery disease.The first step in this diagnostic procedure is to measure TC, TG, and HDL-C levels after overnight fasting. LDL-C level is then calculated by use of the Friedewald equation (LDL-C=TC – HDL-C – TG/5). The LDL-C level may be measured by a homogenous method especially in the case of postprandial examination or when the TG level is 400 mg/dL or higher.