title: Lp(a)-cholesterol is associated with HDL-cholesterol in overweight and obese African American children and is not an independent risk factor for CVD.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The role of lipoprotein (a) cholesterol {Lp(a)-C}as an additional and/or independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) is not clear. We evaluated the associations between Lp(a)-C and other CVD risk factors including plasma lipoprotein concentrations and body fatness in overweight and obese African American children.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional analysis was carried out using data from a sample of 121 African American children aged 9-11 years with body mass index (BMI)'s greater than the 85th percentile. Body height, weight and waist circumference (WC) were measured. Fasting plasma concentrations of Lp(a)-C, total cholesterol (TC), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), very low density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL-C), intermediate density lipoprotein cholesterol (IDL-C), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and triacylglycerides (TAG) were analyzed using the vertical auto profile (VAP) cholesterol method.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After adjusting for child age, gender, and pubertal status, Lp(a)-C was positively associated with both HDL-C and TC, and negatively associated with VLDL-C and TAG. Including BMIz and WC as additional covariates did not alter the direction of the relationships between Lp(a)-C and the other lipoproteins. Finally, after adjusting for the other plasma lipoproteins, Lp(a)-C remained strongly associated with HDL-C, whereas the associations of Lp(a)-C with the other lipoproteins were not significant when HDL-C was simultaneously included in the regression models.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Lp(a)-C was positively associated with HDL-C and this association is not influenced by other lipoprotein subclasses or by the degree of obesity. We conclude that Lp(a) cholesterol is not an independent risk factor for CVD in African American children.
authors.affiliation: Dr Robert C and Veronica Atkins Center for Weight and Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3104, USA. sushma@berkeley.edu
authors.forename: Sushma
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.forename: Jayshree
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Merchant
authors.forename: Sharon E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Fleming
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000367:Age Factors; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002140:California / Q000453:epidemiology; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000097:blood* / Q000208:ethnology*; D002648:Child; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D017270:Lipoprotein(a) / Q000097:blood*; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009765:Obesity / Q000097:blood* / Q000208:ethnology*; D050177:Overweight / Q000097:blood* / Q000208:ethnology*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D055105:Waist Circumference / Q000208:ethnology
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D017270:Lipoprotein(a)