title: The effect of urbanization on the distribution of cord serum lipids in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: a pilot study.
abstract: The objectives of this study were to examine the distribution and effects of sex and urbanization on cord serum lipids, and to determine the cut-off point for calculating prevalence of hypercholesterolaemia in neonates in Saudi Arabia. The study sample was 200 full-term newborns at four different hospitals selected on a quota basis from the urban and rural areas of Saudi Arabia. Total cholesterol, triglyceride and high density lipoprotein (HDL) were the serum lipids assayed. The results showed that the serum total cholesterol and HDL concentration were significantly higher in urban than in rural areas. However, there was no significant sex differential in the lipids. The cut-off points for the calculation of prevalence of hypercholesterolaemia were 1.79 mmol/l in rural areas and 2.56 mmol/l in urban areas. The study also showed that the 95th percentiles of the three lipid parameters were lower than those reported from other countries, e.g. Australia and Finland. This study provides the distributional form of total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol and triglyceride in cord blood, and may serve as a pilot for a large-scale study which incorporates the prevalence of familial hypercholesterolaemia in Saudi Arabia.
authors.affiliation: King Khalid University Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: A R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: al-Nuaim
authors.forename: E A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Bamgboye
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D006937:Hypercholesterolemia / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D010865:Pilot Projects; D015995:Prevalence; D012424:Rural Population; D012529:Saudi Arabia / Q000453:epidemiology; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012737:Sex Factors; D014505:Urban Population; D014507:Urbanization
chemical_list: D008055:Lipids