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(Circulation. 1958;18:341.)
© 1958 American Heart Association, Inc.

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Serum Phospholipids

Genetic and Environmental Influences

LOUIS E. SCHAEFER M.D.¹; DAVID ADLERSBERG M.D.¹; ARTHUR G. STEINBERG PH.D.¹

¹ From the Departments of Medicine and Chemistry, The Mount Sinai Hospital, and the Central Manhattan Medical Group, New York, N. Y.

Serum phospholipid levels were determined in 1,067 healthy persons aged 2 to 77 years. Phospholipid levels increased with age but in a different way for each of the sexes. The age-sex changes of serum phospholipids were similar to those observed for serum cholesterol. Correlation coefficients in members of 156 families indicated that the genetic factor is of importance in determining the serum phospholipid level in health. Because of the age-sex variations of serum phospholipid and serum cholesterol levels, no single arbitrary line can be drawn between normal and abnormally elevated levels of these 2 serum lipid fractions.