Age-related changes in cardiovascular disease risk factors of hypercholesterolemic children.
OBJECTIVE
To describe the age-related changes in cardiovascular disease risk factors in young, hypercholesterolemic (HC) children.


METHODS
Hypercholesterolemic (n = 227) and nonhypercholesterolemic (NHC) (n = 80) children between the ages of 4 and 10 years were identified. Height, weight, skin-fold and blood pressure measurements, and total cholesterol levels were measured. The HC group also had insulin levels evaluated. The groups were compared by analysis of variance. Simple Spearman correlations evaluated the associations between factors within each group.


RESULTS
The HC and NHC groups had similar mean ages, heights, and weights, both contained 51% girls, and all were white subjects. Percent weight-for-height median, and biceps, triceps, suprailiac and subscapular skin-fold measurements were all larger for the HC group. A significant age interaction demonstrated that the HC group's larger suprailiac and sum of skin-fold measures were expressed in the 8.0- to 9.9-year-old children, but not the 4.0- to 5.9-year-olds. For both groups, systolic blood pressure was associated with the measures of adiposity. For the HC group, insulin levels were also associated with adiposity.


CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest that: (1) children with HC have greater body fat, (2) the expression of the hypercholesterolemia precedes the expression of increased body fat, (3) body fat increases with age, and (4) altered insulin and blood pressure levels are expressed in association with the increased body fat in children with HC. Confirmation with longitudinal data is necessary.
Tershakovec
A M
AM
Division of Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104-4399, USA.
Jawad
A F
AF
Stallings
V A
VA
Cortner
J A
JA
Zemel
B S
BS
Shannon
B M
BM
D000273:Adipose Tissue; D000375:Aging / Q000378:metabolism; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001794:Blood Pressure; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006937:Hypercholesterolemia / Q000150:complications*; D007328:Insulin / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012885:Skinfold Thickness
D007328:Insulin