The Cyprus study of cardiovascular risk factors: Lipid levels in children 2-12 years old

Introduction: Coronary heart disease (CHD) is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in many countries. CHD is recognised as a paediatric problem since there is evidence that atherosclerosis, which is the main cause of CHD, begins in early life and may be related to elevated levels of total cholesterol (TC) and lowdensity lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). The purpose of this study was to examine the parameters of the lipid profile of a group of children of Cyprus, and to follow them up with periodic evaluations in order to assess the deviations and to correlate them with eventual coronary events of the study group and of their parents. Other coronary risk factors were also considered. Methods: 783 children (425 boys) 2-12 years old were studied. All of them had a baseline determination of lipid profile. The coronary risk factors of parents/grandparents, as well as coronary events experienced by them, were also investigated. Results: 59% and 56% of children had TC and LDL-C above the expected levels. Mean TC and LDL-C was 171 and 112 mg/dl in boys, and 172 and 116 mg/dl in girls 2-5 years old, respectively. Mean TC and LDL-C was 183 and 119 mg/dl in boys, and 183 and 120 mg/dl in girls 6-12 years old, respectively. 22-42% of children had parents with elevated TC, and 34-44% of children have history of at least one coronary event in their family. Conclusion: We conclude that the majority of the child population studied had elevated atherogenic lipid and mean values ranging at borderline increased levels.