430 



CELLS, TISSUES, AND ORGANISMS 



senim-cliolesterol level? At birth the serum-cholesterol concentration is 

 not zero but something like 70 mg. per 100 ml., and a few days after 

 birth a level of the order of 100 mg. per 100 ml. is the rule. This seems 

 to be true regardless of race or the cholesterol level characteristic of 

 adult life (Bersohn and Wayburne, 1956; Mendez et al, 1959). 



In Figure 6 the average serum-cholesterol level minus 100 at a 

 given age is plotted against the logarithm of the frequency of severe 

 atherosclerosis at that age. So for each decade of age there are two 

 points— one for Minnesota, one for Japanese men in Kyushu. Roughly 

 these points suggest three parallel lines. 



The findings suggest that the Japanese and Minnesota data on 

 atherosclerosis may form a single system which may be a function of 

 the age beyond 15 and the average serum cholesterol minus 100. Ac- 

 cordingly, regression equations were obtained by the method of least 

 squares in the form : 



100 



80 — 



60 



40 



20 



v> 

 O 



o 



v> 8 

 o 



-6 



»- 

 < 



T 



AGE 



AGE 



20 40 60 80 



CHOLESTEROL- 100 



100 



120 



Figure 6. Serum-cholesterol concentration and the logarithm of the fre- 

 quency of severe atherosclerosis in combined Minnesota and Kyushu data. 



