Trends in Serum Lipid Profiles Among Korean Adolescents, 2007–2018

Abstract

Purpose: An adverse lipid profile in adolescence often persists into adulthood, resulting in cardiovascular disease. We aimed to investigate the trends in the prevalence of adverse lipid profiles among Korean adolescents from 2007 to 2018. Patients and Methods: The data were obtained from 9044 adolescents aged 10-19 years who participated in the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (KNHANES) from 2007 to 2018. Fasting serum total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and triglyceride (TG) levels were analyzed. Results: Significantly increasing trends in age-standardized prevalence of hypercholesterolemia [from 5.6% to 9.4% in boys (P = 0.004); from 8.1% to 12.4% in girls (P = 0.01)] and hyper-LDL-cholesterolemia [from 4.3% to 8.0% in boys (P = 0.003); from 6.6% to 9.7% in girls (P = 0.035)] were noted in both sexes. In contrast, the prevalence of hypo-HDLcholesterolemia decreased significantly from 20.0% to 12.5% in boys (<0.001) and from 12.4% to 6.9% in girls (P < 0.001). There were no significant changes in the prevalence of hypertriglyceridemia and hyper-non-HDL-cholesterolemia in both sexes. Accordingly, the overall prevalence of dyslipidemia showed only a modest decline in boys (from 31.8% to 28.7%) and a stable trend in girls (from 28.9% to 28.2%). Conclusion:The prevalence of hypercholesterolemia and hyper-LDL-cholesterolemia increased and that of hypo-HDL-cholesterolemia decreased among Korean adolescents over the recent 12 years. Further studies are needed to explain these trends and possible associations with lifestyle factors.

Decreasing trend of blood lipid profile in type 2 diabetes: Not a promising change in HDL-C, a serial cross-sectional study

“…Increasing trends in the prevalence of high TC and high LDL-C and no significant changes in the prevalence of high TG and high non-HDL-C were reported in Korean adolescents. Dietary fat or dairy consumption changes have been reported as possible reasons for this trend [ 21 ]. Among adults with newly diagnosed T2D in China from 2003–2012, the prevalence of TC had significantly increased.…”

“…Moreover, an increasing prevalence of low HDL-C among adults in China has been reported [ 22 ]. In contrast, the prevalence of low HDL-C decreased significantly among adolescents in Korea from 2007–2018 [ 21 ].…”

“…In light of this, a few studies have been published in the past several years concerning blood lipid levels and dyslipidemia’s overall prevalence and its trend over time. In Korea, the results of a 12-year study have documented significantly increasing trends in total cholesterol (TC), LDL-C, HDL-C, and non-HDL-C among adolescents [ 21 ]. However, a downward trend in LDL-C concentration and an increasing prevalence of low HDL-C over six years have been noted among adults in China [ 22 ].…”

Trends and Risk Factors of Metabolic Syndrome among Korean Adolescents, 2007 to 2018 (Diabetes Metab J 2021;45:880-9)

“…A recent report offers a similar example of the prevalence of dyslipidemia in Korean adolescents over the past 12 years using the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys dataset [ 7 ]. In that particular study, despite a remarkable increase of more than 1.5 times in the prevalence of hypercholesterolemia and hyper-low density lipoprotein-cholesterolemia, the overall prevalence of dyslipidemia showed a slight decrease due to the evident decline in hypo-HDL-cholesterolemia [ 7 ]. We believe that researchers and clinicians should recognize these limitations in the definition of metabolic syndrome and should pay attention to each component.…”

Commentary on "Single point insulin sensitivity estimator for predicting type 2 diabetes mellitus in obese adolescents"

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Recent studies implied that an increase in calorie consumption and a decrease in physical activity among Korean teenagers contributed to an in central obesity, dyslipidemia, metabolic syndrome, and type 2 diabetes over the last decade. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7] Obesityrelated insulin resistance is a key pathophysiology of diabetes development. 8) Various insulin resistance indices, such as Homeostasis Model Assessment for Insulin Resistance, insulin sensitivity index, triglyceride to high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol ratio, and triglyceride and glucose index have been proposed to identify and stratify insulin resistance in obese populations and to aid in the early detection and prevention of type 2 diabetes mellitus.

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