Lesser Iris A

Cardio-metabolic Risk Factor Assessment

Cardio-metabolic risk factors were measured after a 12-hour overnight fast and 48-hour abstinence from alcohol. Blood samples were collected by venipuncture and immediately processed and assessed. Serum and plasma assays (total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein cholesterol, non high density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose, insulin, apolipoprotein A, apolipoprotein B, aluminotransferase, C-reactive protein) were conducted by standard procedures in the St. Paul's Hospital Laboratory, Vancouver, Canada. Method accuracy, inter- and intra-assay precision met the stringent criteria required by the Canadian External Quality Assessment Laboratory. Low density lipoprotein cholesterol was assessed using the Friedewald equation (Friedewald, Levy & Fredrickson 1972). Homeostatic Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR) was calculated as fasting glucose multiplied by fasting insulin divided by 22.5 (Matthews et al., 1985).