SERUM-CHOLESTEROL LEVELS IN SCHOOL-AGED JAPANESE CHILDREN - THE HISAYAMA STUDY

Hypercholesterolemia has been known to be an important factor ill the development of atherosclelosis. Blood cholesterol screening and relate d health education in children. however. have not yet been widely prac ticed in Japan. From 1985 to 1990, blood samples were obtained from 58 25 school children aged 6 to 14 years residing in Hisayama, Japan. The mean total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), high-density lipoprot ein cholesterol (HDL-C) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C ) levels were determined. The mean TC levels ranged from 155 to 172 mg /dL for boys and from 156 to 170 mg/dL for girls, peaking at 9 years f or both sexes. The TG levels also tended to increase gradually and to peak at 11 years for both sexes. The tendency for TG levels to be high er was much clearer than in US children and adolescents. The HDL-C lev els were highest at 9 years of age for both sexes and the LDL-C levels also tended to peak at 9 years of age for boys and at 8 years of age for girls. Atherogenic Indices [(TC-HDL-C)/HDL-C] ranged from 1.7 to 1 .9 fur boys and 1.8 to 2.0 for girls. As the cholesterol level of Japa nese children would be expected to rise steadily reflecting their west ernized lifestyle, preventive programes on a nationwide base including health education at school environments should be emphasized.