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A cross-sectional study of dietary habits and lipid profiles. The Rivas-Vaciamadrid study

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Abstract

The relations between dietary habits and serum lipids have been firmly established in adults. In children, this relation has been less extensively studied. We have assessed the relations between dietary components, including the different types of fatty acids (saturated, polyunsaturated and monounsaturated) and serum lipids and apolipoproteins in a group of 673 6-year-old children of the town of Rivas-Vaciamadrid, Spain. Children in the highest tertile of total fat consumption, when compared with children in the lowest tertile, had higher mean levels of total cholesterol (188.3 mg/dl vs. 146.8 mg/dl), triglycerides (56.7 mg/dl vs. 51.3 mg/dl), LDL cholesterol (120.7 mg/dl vs. 92.6 mg/dl), HDL cholesterol (56.2 mg/dl vs. 54.5 mg/dl) and apolipoprotein B (86.8 mg/dl vs. 62.9 mg/dl). When compared with children in the lowest tertile, children in the highest tertile of saturated fat consumption had significantly higher mean levels of total cholesterol (206.3 mg/dl vs. 151.8 mg/dl), LDL cholesterol (140.6 mg/dl vs. 95.1 mg/dl) and apolipoprotein B (99.2 mg/dl vs. 64.3 mg/dl) and lower mean levels of HDL cholesterol (53.5 mg/dl vs. 57.5 mg/dl), whereas children in the highest tertile of monounsaturated fat consumption had significantly higher mean levels of HDL cholesterol (56.5 mg/dl vs. 51.8 mg/dl) and lower levels of total cholesterol (133.2 mg/dl vs. 201.6 mg/dl), LDL cholesterol (93.1 mg/dl vs. 137.5 mg/dl) and apolipoprotein B (68.6 mg/dl vs. 94.9 mg/dl) than children in the lowest tertile. No statistically significant relation between polyunsaturated fat and lipid levels was found. We have found a strong association between diet composition and lipid and apolipoprotein levels in 6-year-old children. Our findings strengthen the role of monounsaturated fatty acid consumption as a part of a healthy diet in childhood.

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Abbreviations

Apo:

apolipoprotein

HDL:

high density lipoprotein

LDL:

low density lipoprotein

SFA:

saturated fatty acids

PUFA:

polyunsaturated fatty acids

MUFA:

monounsaturated fatty acids

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thanks the Town Council of Rivas-Vaciamadrid for their help and support.The Rivas-Vaciamadrid study has benefitted from Spanish government grant (grant FIS 95/00812) and from financial support of the Town Council of Rivas-Vaciamadrid.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hospital “Niño Jesus”, Madrid, Spain

    Marciano Sanchez-Bayle & Juliana Asensio-Anton

  2. Primary Care Health Centre “Rivas”, Rivas-Vaciamadrid, Spain

    Angel Gonzalez-Requejo, María Jesus Pelaez, María Teresa Morales & Epifania Anton-Pacheco

  3. Centro de Salud “Santa Mónica”, Las Acacias 120, Rivas-Vaciamadrid, 28 529, Madrid, Spain

    Angel Gonzalez-Requejo

Authors
  1. Marciano Sanchez-Bayle
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  2. Angel Gonzalez-Requejo
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  3. María Jesus Pelaez
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  4. María Teresa Morales
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  5. Juliana Asensio-Anton
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  6. Epifania Anton-Pacheco
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Correspondence to Angel Gonzalez-Requejo.

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Sanchez-Bayle, M., Gonzalez-Requejo, A., Pelaez, M.J. et al. A cross-sectional study of dietary habits and lipid profiles. The Rivas-Vaciamadrid study. Eur J Pediatr 167, 149–154 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-007-0439-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-007-0439-6

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