<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><xml><records><record><source-app name="HighWire" version="7.x">Drupal-HighWire</source-app><ref-type name="Journal Article">17</ref-type><contributors><authors><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Brown, J S</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Steele, K</style></author></authors><secondary-authors></secondary-authors></contributors><titles><title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Cigarette smoking and random serum cholesterol levels in a Northern Ireland general practice population of 18- to 20-year-old students and non-students.</style></title><secondary-title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">British Journal of General Practice</style></secondary-title></titles><dates><year><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">1996</style></year><pub-dates><date><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">1996-11-01 00:00:00</style></date></pub-dates></dates><pages><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">665-669</style></pages><volume><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">46</style></volume><issue><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">412</style></issue><abstract><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">BACKGROUND: Coronary heart disease is the commonest cause of death in Northern Ireland, but few data exist on the incidence of risk factors in young adult students and non-students. AIM: To gather data on the prevalence of cigarette smoking and raised serum total cholesterol in a population of 18- to 20-year-old students and non-students. METHOD: Subjects were patients are Mountsandel Surgery, Coleraine on 1 January 1989 and were 18-20 years of age inclusive on that date. Subjects were interviewed by a research nurse who recorded socio-demographic data, tobacco consumption and random serum total cholesterol. Smoking status validation was by serum thiocyanate and expired air carbonmonoxide estimations. RESULTS: Out of the 832 subjects surveyed, 570 were students and 262 were non-students. Cigarettes were smoked by 239 (28.7%) subjects, and a significantly greater proportion of non-students compared with students were smokers (36.6% and 25.1%, respectively; P &lt; 0.001). The proportion of males compared with females who smoked cigarettes was not significantly different, but males smoked significantly more cigarettes per day than females (14 and 11 cigarettes, respectively; P = 0.005). The average age for commencing regular cigarette smoking was 15.3 years, and 49.9% of smokers had started regular smoking by the age of 16 years. A greater proportion of non-students (65.7%) compared with students (39.2%) had started smoking before the age of 16 years. Out of those sampled, 156 (19.2%) had random serum cholesterol levels above 5.2 mmol l-1. Mean total cholesterol for non-students was significantly higher than for students (4.61 and 4.45 mmol l-1, respectively; P = 0.01) and increased significantly with increasing age (P = 0.03). Three subjects recorded cholesterol levels above 7.8 mmol l-1. CONCLUSION: Cigarette smoking and raised serum total cholesterol were prevalent among an apparently healthy population of students and non-students. These young adults may be significantly more at risk from subsequent coronary heart disease than was previously suspected.</style></abstract></record></records></xml>