In reply
Thank you for pointing out the 2 studies in men. It is unclear why average HDL-C concentrations in the presence of high triglyceride levels were associated with a lower risk of coronary heart disease compared with higher levels of HDL-C in men. My statement of "average or high HDL-C levels" referred to HDL-C levels of 40 mg/dL (1.0 mmol/L) or higher and came from the same references in the previous sentence that was referenced and specifically referred to HDL-C levels less than 40 mg/dL. I should have stated "HDL-C levels greater than or equal to 40 mg/dL" rather than average or high. Again, thank you for pointing this out to me.