Blood biochemical measurements
BLOOD
Blood collected in serum SST and fluoride oxalate tubes was analysed on the same day for fasting serum triglycerides, total cholesterol, and plasma glucose via routine automated clinical biochemistry at the Blood Sciences Department of The Royal Victoria Infirmary Hospital, Newcastle, UK. Blood that was collected in EDTA tubes was kept at 4 °C prior to centrifugation at 1900 g at 4 °C for 10 min, and the plasma collected was stored in aliquots (0.5 ml) at − 80 °C until analysis. Plasma HDL cholesterol was measured by enzymatic endpoint analysis using enzyme reagent kits on a clinical chemistry analyser (Randox Daytona Series). LDL cholesterol was estimated using the Friedewald equation [