Serum Lipid levels in children of parents with premature coronary artery disease

The lipid factor is currently considered o be the main agent responsible for cardiovascular risk in young individuals. Several epidemiological studies have shown that atherosclerosis begins in childhood. Therefore consensus was obtained that the earlier the control begins, the better results are achieved. There are many controversies around early identification of hyperlipidemia in children. The aim of this cross-sectional study was the evaluation of serum Lipid levels in children of parents with premature coronary artery disease (CAD). For this purpose, 76 children between 2-10 years old (38 children belonged to parents with premature CAD and 38 age and sex-matched controls belonged to healthy parents) were studied. The height, weight and body mass index were similar in both groups. Serum cholesterol, triglyceride, HDL-C and LDL-C levels after 10 hours fasting were measured twice at 1-week interval. Data were analyzed with EPI 6 and (P<0.05) was considered as significant. Mean cholesterol and LDL-C were respectively 167±20 and 135±30 mg/dl in the case group and 101+20 and 121+20 mg/dl in the control group that shows statistically significant difference between the 2 groups. There were no differences between the 2 groups in triglyceride and HDL-C levels and only 6 children in the case group had LDL-C level greater than 160 mg/dl, while there was no case with LDL-C level of greater than 160 mg/dl in the control group. According to the results total cholesterol and LDL-C levels were higher in children of parents with premature CAD, and this necessitates the evaluation of serum lipid levels in children of parents with premature CAD.