Blood pressure and associated cardiovascular risk factors in adolescents of Mexico City / Tensión arterial y su asociación con factores de riesgo cardiovascular en adolescentes de

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of high blood pressure and associated cardiovascular risk factors in Mexican adolescents. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 770 male and 1076 female students (12 to 16 years old) from eight randomly selected high schools in Mexico City. Anthropometry, blood pressure and fasting lipids and lipoproteins were measured. RESULTS: Blood pressure levels were adjusted for age, gender, and height. The prevalence rates of hypertension (systolic blood pressure (SBP) and/or diastolic (DBP) > or =95th percentile), and pre-hypertension (SBP or DBP > or =90th but <95th percentile) were 10.6 and 10%, respectively. Compared to normotensive subjects, those with high blood pressure showed a significantly higher prevalence of obesity, overweight, and dyslipidemia. A stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that waist (18.3%), Tanner stage (4.7%), age (2.1%), gender (0.6%), and body mass index (BMI, 0.3%) accounted for 26% of the variance in SBP; whereas BMI (8.7%), age (4.8%), Tanner stage (1.7%), waist (0.4%), and gender (0.4%) accounted for 15.9% of the variance in DBP. CONCLUSIONS: These results reveal a high prevalence of high blood pressure in adolescents living in Mexico City. Prehypertensive and hypertensive subjects showed a higher prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors, suggesting that, as adults, these adolescents will be at a higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

Alteraciones de las lipoproteínas de alta y baja densidad en pacientes coronarios con C-LDL en meta pero C-HDL y triglicéridos anormales / High and low density lipoprotein abnormalities in coronary patients with LDL-C at target and uncontrolled HDL-C and triglycerides

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the high density lipoprotein (HDL) subclasses distribution and chemical composition, as well as low density lipoprotein (LDL) size and LDL oxidation, in coronary male patients treated with statins, that had LDL-cholesterol levels at target (< 100 mg/dL), but whose HDL-cholesterol (< 40 mg/dL) and triglycerides (TG > or = 150 mg/dL) levels were abnormal. The control group was formed by statin treated coronary male patients with LDL-C below 100 mg/dL and normal HDL-C and TG levels. MATERIAL AND METHODS: HDL subclasses and LDL size were determined by gradient gel electrophoresis. LDL susceptibility to oxidation was determined by measuring lag phase duration, after adding the oxidant agent. RESULTS: Compared with the control group (n = 35), patients with low HDL-C + high TG (n = 34) showed significantly lower proportions of large HDL and higher proportions of small HDL particles. In addition, these patients had abnormal HDL composition, smaller LDL size, and higher LDL susceptibility to oxidation (p < 0.05 for all). CONCLUSIONS: Coronary patients with optimal LDL-C levels on statin therapy but with low HDL-C and high TG, have HDL and LDL abnormalities that have been shown to be associated with a higher risk of new coronary events.