Serum Triglyceride Concentration and Coronary Heart Disease

To the Editor:The independent prognostic significance of fasting triglyceride concentration is currently debated. The article by Sharrett et al1 reports the impact of several lipid parameters on the subsequent occurrence of coronary heart disease in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study, in which a large middle-aged population free from coronary heart disease at baseline was followed for 10 years.The authors’ statement that triglycerides provide “substantial” and “independent” coronary heart disease prediction, at least in women, is not fully supported by the study results. The authors affirm that the association between triglycerides and subsequent coronary heart disease they found in women after adjustment for age …