Serum Lipid Levels in Children of Parents with Premature Coronary Artery Disease

The lipid factor is currently considered to be the main agent responsible for cardiovascular risk in young individuals. Several epidemiological studies have shown that atherosclerosis begins in childhood. Therefore consensus was obtained that the earlier the control begins,the better results are achieved. There are many controversies around early identification of hyperlipidemia in children . The aim of this cross-sectional study was the evaluation of serum lipid levels in children of parents with premature coronary artery disease(CAD). For this purpose, 76 children between 2-10 years old (38 children belonged to parents with premature CAD and 38 age and sex-matched controls belonged to healthy parents) were studied .The height, weight and body mass index were similar in both groups . Serum cholestrol , triglycerid , HDLc and LDLc levels after 10 hours fasting were measured twice at one-week interval. Data were analysed with Epi 6 and p < 0.05 was considered as significant. Mean cholestrol and LDLc were respectively 167±20 and 135±30 mg/dl in the case group and 101+20 and121+20 mg/dl in the control group that shows statistically significant difference between the two groups. There were no differences between the two groups in triglycerid and HDLc levels and only six children in the case group had LDLc level greater than 160 mg/dl,while there was no casewith LDLc level of greater than 160mg/dl in the control group .According to the results total cholestol and LDLc levels were higher in children of parents with premature CAD, and this necessitates the evaluation of serum lipid levels in children of parents with premature CAD.