Abstract
Chinese people may not have a genetically lower risk of developing coronary heart disease than other individuals. A study compared the incidence of electrocardiographic abnormalities in 1,263 Chinese individuals living in Beijing, China to 267 Chinese individuals and 2,697 non-Chinese individuals living in Mauritius. Individuals with electrocardiographic abnormalities have a higher risk of developing coronary heart disease than those who do not. Four percent of Chinese individuals living in Beijing had abnormalities, compared with 24.3% of the Chinese Mauritians and 24.5% of non-Chinese Mauritians. Chinese individuals living in Beijing had lower blood levels of cholesterol and non-high density lipoprotein cholesterol, compared to Chinese individuals living in Mauritian. The risk of coronary heart disease may be determined more by environment, diet and other lifestyle factors than by genetics.