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Dyslipidemia among middle-aged and older people leads to coronary artery disease (CAD). The consequences of dyslipidemia during young adulthood is the subject of this prospective U.S. study, in which more than 3200 young adults (age range, 18–30) underwent periodic serial lipid measurements for 2 decades after enrollment in 1985. At 15 to 20 years of follow-up, when participants were about 45, coronary calcium studies were performed.
Only 13% of participants maintained LDL cholesterol levels <100 mg/dL throughout young adulthood. After controlling for multiple coronary risk factors, LDL cholesterol levels in young adulthood were strongly predictive of coronary calcium 2 decades later. For example, the prevalence of coronary calcium was 8% am…