[Pattern of the distribution of total cholesterol and cHDL cholesterol Spanish children and adolescents: RICARDIN Study].
BACKGROUND
The RICARDIN Study multicenter study of cardiovascular risk factors in children and adolescents has described the standards of normality of blood cholesterol levels in the Spanish school population. The objective of the present study was to compare mean values of cholesterol between different regions of Spain, and to compare the global mean with a pool international study. Also, the pattern of total cholesterol and cHDL by age and sex using mathematical model is described, and comparison with two international studies carried out in USA and Japan is performed.


METHODS
10,683 children aged 6 to 18 were selected from 7 different Spanish provinces (Madrid, Vizcaya, Lugo, Badajoz, Murcia, Asturias and Barcelona). Blood samples were obtained by capilar puncture (Reflotron).


RESULTS
Mean values of total cholesterol was different among provinces, and globally, were lower than the international pooled population, although the pattern observed in each population was very similar. Total cholesterol curve for Spanish boys showed a curvilinear trend that can be estimated through a cubic function that explains 89% of observed data, while for girls the best estimate was obtained through an inverse function (R2 = 0.40). cHDL for boys showed a cubic function as the best estimate (R2 = 0.90), while for girls the best estimate was obtained through a quadratic function (R2 = 0.59).


CONCLUSIONS
There are important physiological variations of total cholesterol level by age and sex in children and adolescents. The pattern of cholesterol does not follow a linear model but a curvilinear one, that need to be considered in clinically assessing individual determinations of cholesterol, since highest percentiles can vary by age and sex.
Brotons Cuixart
C
C
Unidad de Epidemiología Clínica. Servicio de Cardiología. Hospital Universitario Vall d'Hebron. Barcelona.
Gabriel Sánchez
R
R
Muñiz García
J
J
Ribera Solé
A
A
Málaga Guerrero
S
S
Sáenz Aranzubia
P E
PE
Díaz González-Blanco
M T
MT
Sánchez Bayle
M
M
Sandín Domínguez
M
M
Bosch Giménez
V
V
Gorostiza Garai
E
E
Labarthe
D R
DR
Fernández-Cruz
A
A
Ricardin
P
P
D000293:Adolescent; D017677:Age Distribution; D002648:Child; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood*; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood*; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D017678:Sex Distribution; D013030:Spain; D014481:United States
D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D002784:Cholesterol