title: Cardiovascular risk factors of early atherosclerosis in school-aged children after Kawasaki disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to determine whether school-aged children with Kawasaki disease (KD) have an increased risk for early atherosclerosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study included 98 children. The children were divided into the following groups: group A (n=19), KD with coronary arterial lesions that persisted or regressed; group B (n=49), KD without coronary arterial lesions; and group C (n=30), healthy children. Anthropometric variables and the levels of biochemical markers, including total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), apolipoprotein A, apolipoprotein B, homocysteine, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), and brachial artery stiffness using pulse wave velocity were compared among the three groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were no significant differences in blood pressure and body index among the three groups. Additionally, there was no sex-specific difference. Moreover, the levels of triglyceride, HDL-C, apolipoprotein A, and hs-CRP did not differ among the three groups. However, the levels of total cholesterol (P=0.018), LDL-C (P=0.0003), and apolipoprotein B (P=0.029) were significantly higher in group A than in group C. Further, the level of homocysteine and the aortic pulse wave velocity were significantly higher in groups A and B than in group C (P=0.0001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  School-aged children after KD have high lipid profiles and arterial stiffness indicating an increased risk for early atherosclerosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Chungnam National University School of Medicine, Daejeon, Korea.
authors.forename: Hyun Jeong
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Chungnam National University School of Medicine, Daejeon, Korea.
authors.forename: Soo In
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Chungnam National University School of Medicine, Daejeon, Korea.
authors.forename: Kyung Hee
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Inje University College of Medicine, Busan, Korea.
authors.forename: Jee Na
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Chungnam National University School of Medicine, Daejeon, Korea.
authors.forename: Hong Ryang
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Kil
keywords: Atherosclerosis; Mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome; Risk factors of cardiovascular diseases