Recent Trends Favorable for Lipid Levels in U.S. Youth

From 1988-1994 to 2007-2010, decrease in prevalence of elevated total cholesterol

TUESDAY, Aug. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Among U.S. youth, positive trends were noted in serum lipid concentrations in the period from 1988-1994 to 2007-2010, according to a study published in the Aug. 8 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Brian K. Kit, M.D., M.P.H., from the National Center for Health Statistics at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Hyattsville, Md., and colleagues conducted a cross-sectional analysis to examine trends in lipid concentrations among 16,116 youths, aged 6 to 19 years, who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys for 1988 to 1994, 1999 to 2002, and 2007 to 2010.

The researchers found that, from 1988-1994 to 2007-2010, there was a significant decrease in the mean total cholesterol (TC) and a significant decline in the prevalence of elevated TC among youths aged 6 to 19 years. While the mean high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) increased significantly, the prevalence of low HDL-C did not change from 1988-1994 to 2007-2010. Over the study period the mean non-HDL-C and prevalence of elevated non-HDL-C decreased significantly. In 2007 to 2010, 22 percent of youths had a low HDL-C level or high non-HDL-C level, compared with 27.2 percent in 1988 to 1994. From 1988-1994 to 2007-2010 there was a decline in mean low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and in geometric mean triglycerides among adolescents aged 12 to 19 years; there was also a decrease in the prevalence of elevated LDL-C and triglycerides.

"Between 1988 to 1994 and 2007 to 2010, a favorable trend in serum lipid concentrations was observed among youths in the United States but almost one in 10 had elevated TC in 2007 to 2010," the authors write.

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