Improvements in cholesterol-related knowledge and behavior and plasma cholesterol levels in youths during the 1980s.
This article examines cholesterol-related knowledge, cholesterol-related behaviors, and plasma cholesterol levels in 12-24-year-olds, using data collected from four community-based cross-sectional surveys conducted 1979-1980, 1981-1982, 1985-1986, and 1989-1990. Participants included 1,552 individuals from randomly sampled households in two control cities (San Luis Obispo and Modesto, California) of the Stanford Five-City Project. Over the eleven-year study period, cholesterol-related knowledge improved in both control cities (P < .0002). Cholesterol-related behavior (P < .0003) and plasma cholesterol levels (P < .002) significantly improved only in San Luis Obispo (a college city with more 19-24-year-olds and a better-educated population than Modesto). In general, knowledge and behavior scores and plasma cholesterol levels were lower in these 12-24-year-olds than in 25-74-year-olds, although trends at all ages were similar over time and by demographic variables. Although the cholesterol-related interventions that began in the mid-1980s primarily targeted adults, these 12-24-year-olds' cholesterol-related knowledge improved (as did, to a lesser extent, their cholesterol-related behavior and plasma cholesterol levels). These findings have implications for upcoming youth-related cholesterol interventions.
Frank
E
E
Stanford Center for Research in Disease Prevention, Palo Alto, CA 94304-1885.
Winkleby
M
M
Fortmann
S P
SP
Rockhill
B
B
Farquhar
J W
JW
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002140:California; D002648:Child; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood*; D002791:Cholesterol, Dietary; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006266:Health Education; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male
D002791:Cholesterol, Dietary; D002784:Cholesterol