Age and gender specific serum lipid and apolipoprotein fractiles of Finnish children and young adults. The Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study

Abstract

We present fractile data on serum lipids and apolipoproteins A-l and B for children and young adults from the cardiovascular risk in young Finns study cohort of 1986. The sample comprised 2370 fasting children and young adults (1114 males and 1256 females) aged 9, 12, 15, 18, 21 and 24 years. The determinations were performed in duplicate with standard methods. LDL-cholesterol values were calculated. The limits for clearly pathological values (exceeding the 97.5th percentile) irrespective of age and gender were 7.5 mmol/l, 5.0 mmol/l, 3.5 mmol/l and 1.4 g/l for serum total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, triglycerides and apolipoprotein B, respectively. Corresponding values (below the 2.5th percentile) for HDL-cholesterol, apolipoprotein A-l, HDL2- and HDL3-cholesterol were 0.80 mmol/l, 1.0 mg/l, 0.20 mmol/l and 0.70 mmol/l, respectively. Approximately 79%, 33% and 7% of males had serum total cholesterol values greater than 4.0 mmol, 5.0 mmol/l and 6.0 mmol/l, respectively. Corresponding percentages for females were 87%, 43% and 10%. However, age-related differences were marked. The prevalence of values, e.g. greater than 6 mmol/l according to age, ranged from 6 to 13% in females and from 3 to 12% in males, emphasizing the need for age-specific reference values. Additionally, postpubertal values for total and LDL-cholesterol tended to be slightly lower compared to prepubertal values, indicating that the reference values for adults do not apply to adolescents and young adults. The age-related changes in lipid levels were evident in each fractile and were especially accentuated in higher fractiles. Fluctuations with age were more pronounced in males than in females. These results are intended to be applied as reference values for diagnosing dyslipidemias.

Metabolic syndrome in obese Caucasian children: prevalence using WHO-derived criteria and association with nontraditional cardiovascular risk factors

“…It is indeed still untested how the American criteria adapted for adolescents would apply to other populations who may have different normal reference ranges for some of the criteria of the definition. [24][25][26][27] Moreover the use, as in the NCEP definition adapted to adolescents, of a unique cutoff value for triglycerides and HDL cholesterol during childhood may lead to misclassification of dyslipidemia. This life period is characterized by age and sex-specific fluctuation in lipid values.…”

“…This life period is characterized by age and sex-specific fluctuation in lipid values. [24][25][26] We found that 23.3% of obese children had the MS. The prevalence of MS in our cohort of all Caucasian children was lower compared to the 29-50% previously reported in cohorts of American multiethnic and Hispanic obese children 5,6,19 using NCEP criteria adapted to adolescents.…”

Effects of family-oriented risk-based prevention on serum cholesterol and blood pressure values of children and adolescents

“…The development of lipid concentrations [18] and blood pressure [19,20] in children with age differs between gender and age. Therefore, statistical analyses were performed separately for boys and girls by dividing participants into three age groups.…”

Quantitative Trait Loci for Apolipoprotein B, Cholesterol, and Triglycerides in Familial Combined Hyperlipidemia Pedigrees

“…To further reduce potential genetic heterogeneity, pedigrees from among those satisfying the aforementioned criteria were included in the current analyses only if the proband had levels of serum triglycerides and serum cholesterol exceeding age/sex-specific cutoff values and at least 1 first-degree relative had an increased age-specific and sex-specific serum triglyceride or serum cholesterol level Specifically, the proband in each family included in these analyses exceeded the 90th percentiles for total serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels within the subject's age and sex category according to the distributions from a large-scale Finnish population-based study. 20 These percentiles may be more stringent than those for the Dutch, which are not available.…”

“…Thus, all pedigree members were assessed as to whether their apoB or triglyceride levels exceeded the 90th percentile for their age and sex categories, again using the Finnish distributions. 20 Among the pedigrees, 20 contained at least 2 individuals who exceeded either of these criteria and they were included, resulting in 125 individuals who were classified as "affected." A single-point parametric linkage analysis of the genome scan data was conducted using a dominant fully penetrant model for the inheritance of the putative disease gene.…”