RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Serum lipid abnormalities in early childhood are risk factors for atherosclerosis. Lipid peroxidation might play an important role in this process, along with hypercholesterolemia. OBJECTIVE: To compare plasma concentrations of malondialdehyde (MDA) and vitamin E in two groups of children: one group with low density lipoproteins (LDL) concentrations > or = 130 mg/dL and another group with LDL concentrations < 130 mg/dL. METHODS: Cross-sectional study. Healthy schoolchildren from the city of Medellin selected by probabilistic sampling performed by staff at the Universidad de Antioquia in Colombia. SAMPLE: There were 134 subjects, aged 6 to 9 years old, divided into two groups: a group of 67 hypercholesterolemic children (LDL > or = 130 mg/dL) and a control group of 67 normocholesterolemic children (LDL < 130 mg/dL). RESULTS: Hypercholesterolemic children with a mean serum LDL concentration of 147.7 +/- 15.5 mg/dL and a total cholesterol concentration of 212 +/- 17 mg/dL had higher MDA plasma concentrations than the control group (0.18 +/- 0.1 6 microM; 0.08 +/- 0.06 microM, p < 0,0001, respectively). A negative correlation was observed between alpha-tocopherol/total lipids ratio and MDA values in children with hypercholesterolemia (r = -0.337 p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Lipid peroxidation was higher in hypercholesterolemic children than in the control group and was even higher when there was a deficit in the alpha-tocopherol/total lipids ratio. Hypercholesterolemia and lipid peroxidation are co-existing risk factors that are established during school age.
