The frequency distribution for serum lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)) concentrations in healthy Japanese was highly skewed, with a mean +/- S.D. of 14.6 +/- 13.6 mg/dl and a median of 11.0 mg/dl. The present study provides the first evidence on the frequencies of Lp(a) phenotypes and alleles in healthy Japanese subjects. There was a strong inverse relationship between the apparent molecular weights of apo(a) isoforms and plasma Lp(a) concentrations, as reported previously. However, because of the considerable overlap between the Lp(a) concentrations of the different phenotypes, it was impossible to predict Lp(a) concentration from Lp(a) phenotypes, or vice versa. The present results suggest that the distribution of Lp(a) concentrations, mean and median values and Lp(a) phenotype and allele frequencies in healthy Japanese are not significantly different from the results for Europeans, whereas they are significantly different from other Asian populations, i.e. Chinese, Indians and Malaysians.