DIVERGENT AGE-ASSOCIATED PATTERNS OF HIGH-DENSITY-LIPOPROTEIN CHOLESTEROL AND ITS PERCENTAGE IN JEWISH AND MOSLEM ARAB ISRAELI CHILDREN ANDADOLESCENTS - THE PETACH-TIKVA PROJECT

We studied three groups of Israeli Jewish schoolchildren in and surrou nding Petach Tikva, Israel, cross-sectionally, at ages 9-10, 13-14, an d 16-18 years, and compared lipid and lipoprotein levels and age-assoc iated lipoprotein patterns in the same age groups of boys and girls in neighboring Israeli Moslem Arab schools during 1986-1987. Moslem chil dren displayed striking differences in the levels of lipids and age-as sociated patterns of lipoproteins compared with Jewish schoolchildren. The mean total cholesterol levels were lower in the Moslem children, in both sexes, in every age grouping. High density lipoprotein cholest erol (HDL-C) levels were significantly higher at age 16-18 in the Mosl em boys than in the Jewish boys. While the Jewish boys displayed a pre viously reported ''typical'' pattern of lower HDL-C levels postpuberty compared with prepuberty, the Moslem boys had markedly higher mean HD L-C levels at age 16-18 compared with those at age 9-10. The Moslem gi rls also had higher HDL-C levels at age 16-18 than those observed in t he age 9-10 group. Concomitantly higher HDL-C levels (HDL-C/total chol esterol (%)) were seen in the Moslem boys and girls, at age 16-18 comp ared with age 9-10, but were not observed in the Jewish children. The identification of an ethnic group in whom HDL-C appears to increase at or near puberty could provide opportunities to elucidate factors that may increase HDL-C in individuals or in populations.