Lipid status in a population of Spanish schoolchildren

Serum lipid levels in an Iranian population of children and adolescents: Tehran lipid and glucose study

Data from 3148 participants aged 3-19 years (1447 males and 1701 females) in the cross-sectional phase of Tehran lipid and glucose study (February 1999-May 2000) were used to determine serum lipid levels [total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TGs), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C)] after 12-14 hours overnight fast. The values were analyzed by sex and age. Mean serum TC concentration was 170 mg/dl. TC was significantly greater in females than males (173 vs. 167 mg/dl, p < 0.05). The 90th and 95th percentiles for serum TC were 211 and 227 mg/dl, respectively. There was a significant decrease in mean TC in males during puberty. Thirty-one percent of population had TC values between 170 and 199 mg/dl and 16% had values of 200 mg/dl or greater. The mean TGs values were 103 for males and 108 mg/dl for females [non-significant (NS)]. The prevalence of high-risk values of TGs increased with age in males, reaching a peak at 17-19 years. The mean HDL-C level was 45 mg/dl. Mean HDL-C was highest at 7-10 years of age and decreased thereafter. The mean LDL-C was 102 in males and 107 mg/dl in females (NS). Twenty-two percent had LDL-C values between 110 and 129 mg/dl and 17% had values 130 mg/dl or greater. The results showed higher levels of TC, LDL-C and TGs and lower HDL-C in Tehranian children and adolescents than other studies. To design comprehensive public health programs to reduce serum lipid levels among Iranian children and adolescents, underlying factors for the high prevalence of dyslipoproteinemia should be sought.

Fat content of the diet among preschool children in southwest Britain: II. relationship with growth, blood lipids, and iron status

OBJECTIVE

In most countries, it is recommended that adults restrict fat intake to 30% to 35% of energy to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease and certain cancers. However, the appropriate level of fat in the diet of children is hotly debated. It has been generally accepted that fat intake by children under 2 years of age should not be limited because of fears that nutrient intakes and thus growth and iron status might be compromised. However, there is very little longitudinal information on the relationship between fat intake and growth in representative populations of free-living children under 2 years old. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between fat intake as a percentage of energy, and nutrient adequacy, growth, blood lipids, and iron status in 18- and 43-month-old children.

DESIGN

This study forms part of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC)-a geographically-based cohort study in southwest England. A randomly selected subsample of the ALSPAC cohort attended research clinics approximately every 6 months from birth, at which a variety of anthropometric and other measurements were made. Dietary intakes at 18 and 43 months were assessed using a 3-day unweighed food record. A capillary blood sample was taken at 18 months for measurement of hemoglobin and ferritin levels. Nonfasting venous blood samples were taken at 31 and 43 months and analyzed for total and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. The children were divided into quartiles of fat intake as a percentage of energy (QFI). QFI groups were compared for the number of children reaching recommended nutrient intakes, and for anthropometry, measures of iron status, and blood lipid levels.

PARTICIPANTS

Nine hundred fifty-one children at 18 months and 805 children at 43 months.

RESULTS

The mean (standard deviation) percentages of energy from fat in each quartile at 18 months were 31.2 (2.8), 36.1 (0.9), 39.1 (0.8), and 43.1 (2.2), corresponding to a fat intake in grams of 37.3 (8.1), 44.3 (8.1), 50.4 (10.2), and 55.4 (12.7). The number of children failing to reach recommended intake levels for zinc and vitamin A fell with increasing fat intake, while the number of children consuming less than the recommendations for iron and vitamin C rose at both ages. Despite this, there was no association between fat intake at 18 months and mean height or body mass index (BMI) at either 18 or 31 months. Fat intake at 43 months was also unassociated with concurrent or subsequent height or BMI. There was also no significant increase in the number of children falling below the tenth percentile for height or BMI as QFI fell. Mean ferritin levels at 18 months fell in both sexes as QFI increased. Total cholesterol levels at 31 months were significantly associated with QFI at 18 months, and rose from 3.99 mmol/l in the lowest QFI in boys, to 4.31 mmol/l in the highest QFI. QFI at 43 months was unassociated with cholesterol levels.

CONCLUSIONS

These data do not suggest that fat intakes are an important determinant of growth in these children, even before the age of 2 years, or that children at the bottom of the range of fat intakes are experiencing delayed growth. On the other hand, there is also no evidence in this study that children on higher fat intakes are at a greater risk of becoming obese. In contrast to a number of US studies, we have not found children on lower fat intakes to have lower iron intakes-indeed higher fat intakes were associated with a greater chance of consuming less than the recommended intake of iron and with lower ferritin levels. The association of higher fat intakes with higher total cholesterol levels among boys is of concern, as there is evidence that the process of atherosclerosis begins during the preschool years.

Olive oil- and fish oil-enriched diets modify plasma lipids and susceptibility of LDL to oxidative modification in free-living male patients with peripheral vascular disease: the Spanish Nutrition Study

The present study describes a clinical trial in which Spanish patients suffering from peripheral vascular disease (Fontaine stage II) were given specific lipid supplements. Designed as a longitudinal intervention study, patients were provided with olive oil for 3 months, followed by a 3 month wash-out period, then supplemented with a combination of fish oil and olive oil for the final 3 months. Changes in plasma and lipoprotein fatty acid composition and susceptibility of LDL to in vitro oxidation were examined. Furthermore, lipid-supplement-induced changes in LDL properties were measured as relative electrophoretic mobility and macrophage uptake. In addition, thirteen patients not provided with olive oil and fish oil were included as a control group and twenty healthy age-matched individuals were used as a reference group. A complete clinical study and a nutritional survey concerning food habits and lifestyle were performed every 3 months. Yao indices and claudicometry did not change significantly with dietary intervention although changes in plasma lipid composition suggested an improvement in the condition of the patients. The intake of the fish-oil supplement resulted in significantly increased plasma levels of eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5n-3) and docosahexaenoic acid (22:6n-3) in comparison with baseline concentrations, olive-oil and control groups. Fish-oil consumption significantly decreased plasma triacylglycerol levels compared with the olive-oil period, control and reference groups. The susceptibility of LDL to Cu-mediated oxidation was lower in the patients consuming olive oil and the fish-oil supplement than in the control group, and the uptake of LDL by macrophages was significantly lower in the group supplemented with fish oil. In conclusion, consumption of olive oil together with a dietary supplement of fish oil may be useful in the nutritional management of patients suffering from peripheral vascular disease in terms of increasing plasma n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids and decreasing susceptibility of LDL to oxidation.