ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate early serum lipid profiles in preterm infants and their relationship with neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (RDS).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Appropriate-for-gestational-age (AGA) preterm infants were grouped according to gestational age (GA) or birth weight (BW). AGA full-term infants were randomly selected as the control group. Venous blood samples were collected within 12 hours after birth for measurement of biochemical indices, including total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and triglyceride (TG). Blood lipid levels were compared between preterm infants with and without RDS in various groups.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Plasma TG level rose as GA and BW increased. Plasma TG levels in the 28-30 week and 31-33 week GA groups were significantly lower than in the 34-36 week GA and control groups (P<0.01). Plasma TG levels in the ≤ 1499 g and 1500-2499 g BW groups were significantly lower than in the ≥ 2500 g BW and control groups (P<0.05), and the 1500-2499 g BW group had a significantly higher plasma TG level than the ≤ 1499 g BW group (P<0.01). There were no significant differences in plasma HDL-C, LDL-C and TC levels between all groups and between preterm infants with RDS and without RDS. In the 28-30 week GA group, the preterm infants with RDS had a significantly lower TG level than those without RDS (P<0.05); also, in the ≤ 1499 g BW group, preterm infants with RDS had a significantly lower TG level than those without RDS ( P<0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Blood lipid levels are related to GA and BW. Low TG level may be one of the causes of RDS in preterm infants with a gestational age of 28-30 weeks and a BW of ≤ 1499 g.</p>