Dyslipidemia of mothers with familial hypercholesterolemia deteriorates lipids in adult offspring.
OBJECTIVE
It is unknown whether elevated maternal low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels lead to dyslipidemia in the offspring. Because this could have important consequences for cardiovascular prevention in mother and child, we explored the relationship between maternal familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) and lipids in adult offspring.


RESULTS
In a large cohort of both Dutch and Canadian origin, we compared lipid profiles between patients, aged 18 to 85 years, who inherited FH maternally (n=1069) and those who inherited FH paternally (n=1270). This relationship was evaluated using multivariate regression analyses. Levels of total cholesterol (TC), LDL-C, and apolipoprotein B 100 (ApoB100) were significantly elevated in patients who inherited FH maternally compared with patients who inherited FH paternally (adjusted differences in TC: 0.156 mmol/L, P=0.037; LDL-C: 0.187 mmol/L, P=0.012; ApoB: 0.064 g/L, P=0.022).


CONCLUSIONS
Our data show that maternal hereditary hypercholesterolemia slightly increases TC, LDL-C, and ApoB levels in their offspring later in life. Although the molecular mechanisms underlying these observations still require elucidation, our data suggest that maternal hypercholesterolemia during pregnancy may program lipid metabolism to a certain extent in the fetus.
van der Graaf
Anouk
A
Department of Vascular Medicine, Academic Medical Centre, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Vissers
Maud N
MN
Gaudet
Daniel
D
Brisson
Diane
D
Sivapalaratnam
Suthesh
S
Roseboom
Tessa J
TJ
Jansen
Angelique C M
AC
Kastelein
John J P
JJ
Hutten
Barbara A
BA
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001055:Apolipoproteins B / Q000097:blood; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D040941:Heredity; D006801:Humans; D006938:Hyperlipoproteinemia Type II / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics*; D050356:Lipid Metabolism / Q000235:genetics*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009426:Netherlands; D010375:Pedigree; D010641:Phenotype; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000235:genetics*; D011792:Quebec; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D015854:Up-Regulation; D055815:Young Adult
D001055:Apolipoproteins B; D015415:Biomarkers; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL; D002784:Cholesterol