title: Plasma lipids and other cardiovascular risk factors in Costa Rican adolescents.
abstract: This study assessed plasma lipids and other cardiovascular risk factors in adolescents in a developing Latin American country and compared those risk factors to those of adolescents in the United States of America, where the risk of heart disease is high. In a cross-sectional study, data were collected from September 1998 to April 1999 on 161 Costa Rican adolescents between the ages of 12 and 20. A general questionnaire was used to collect demographic, smoking, socioeconomic, and women's health data. Anthropometric measurements, blood pressure, and a fasting blood sample were taken. The Costa Rican males had lower levels of total cholesterol than did the Costa Rican females (mean +/- standard error of the mean (SEM), 149 +/- 6.5 mg/dL vs. 158 +/- 6.3 mg/dL). This was mainly due to lower high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol in males than in females (mean +/- SEM, 38 +/- 2.0 mg/dL vs. 44 +/- 2.4 mg/dL). As compared to the United States, adolescents in this study had lower levels of total cholesterol, largely due to lower HDL cholesterol. Both genders of Costa Ricans had levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol that were similar to those of counterpart groups in the United States. Costa Rican male and female adolescents had higher LDL/HDL ratios than did their United States counterparts. Therefore, as compared to the United States, Costa Rican adolescents have an adverse lipid profile as demonstrated by a higher LDL/HDL ratio. Overweight prevalence in Costa Rica was 13%, approaching the 15% overall level of the United States.
authors.affiliation: Cornell University, Department of Medicine, New York, New York, USA. msi5u@virginia.edu
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Irwig
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Siles
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Gotto
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Rifai
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Campos
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000886:Anthropometry; D001794:Blood Pressure; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000235:genetics; D002648:Child; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D003364:Costa Rica / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood*; D008074:Lipoproteins / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics; D012016:Reference Values; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D008055:Lipids; D008074:Lipoproteins; D002784:Cholesterol