[Non-HDL cholesterol levels in students aged 7 to 17 years in a Brazilian town].
OBJECTIVE
To describe the levels of non-HDL cholesterol and correlated factors in a group of Brazilian male and female children and adolescents.


METHODS
From March to October 2002 we evaluated 2,029 schoolchildren from 7 to 17 years old in the town of Maracaí, São Paulo, Brazil. The biochemical determinations of triglycerides, total cholesterol, and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol were carried out using enzymatic reactions and the Vitros 750 analyzer. Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels were calculated using the Friedewald formula: LDL cholesterol = total cholesterol-HDL cholesterol-(triglycerides/5). Non-HDL cholesterol was calculated by subtracting HDL cholesterol from total cholesterol.


RESULTS
The correlation between non-HDL cholesterol levels and LDL cholesterol levels was 0.971 (P < 0.001). Non-HDL cholesterol had a stronger correlation than did LDL cholesterol with all the variables under study: total cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL cholesterol, very low-density lipoproteins, body mass index, and waist circumference. The non-HDL cutpoints identified as corresponding to the four cutpoints of LDL cholesterol (110, 130, 160, and 190 mg/dL) indicating the need to treat dyslipidemia in children and adolescents were, respectively: 127.8, 149.2, 181.2, and 213.2 mg/dL.


CONCLUSIONS
Our findings contribute toward estimating non-HDL levels in Brazilian children and adolescents. The results also indicate that non-HDL cholesterol is a reliable and less costly method for researching the presence of dyslipidemias in this age group.
Seki
Matiko Okabe
MO
Universidade Estadual de Londrina, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Saúde Coletiva, Brasil. matikoseki@uol.com.br
Matsuo
Tiemi
T
Seki
Mario
M
D000293:Adolescent; D001938:Brazil; D002648:Child; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D014505:Urban Population
D002784:Cholesterol