Lipid intake and serum cholesterol level in cystic fibrosis patients

The authors evaluated the data of 30 patients with cystic fibrosis (18 male , 12 female), between ages 2-18 (average age: 9.57 years). In 60% of the pa tients serum cholesterol was below the 5th percentile value according to th e data of the NATIONAL CHOLESTEROL EDUCATION PROGRAM (1991). They examined the connection between the serum cholesterol levels and the total fat, fatt y acids and cholesterol intake. No significant differences were found betwe en total fat, fatty acids and cholesterol intake of patients with serum cho lesterol levels below the 5th percentile value and patients with levels abo ve the 5th percentile value, The analysis of the nutritional data showed th at lipid intake was in accordance with the proportion prescribed for patien ts with CF (35.56% of energy). The intakes of saturated fatty acids (SFA), monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) w ere 11%, 11% and 8,3% of total energy, respectively, the PUFA/SFA ratio was 0.78. The ratio of linoleic to alfa-linolenic acid was especially high: 29 . The clinical condition of the patients in the low cholesterol level group , as shown by the Shwachman-Kulczycki score was significantly lower (P<0.05 ) than that of the group with serum cholesterol levels above the 5th percen tile value. The authors therefore suggest the importance of the regular mon itoring of serum cholesterol levels in patients with cystic fibrosis. Obser ving the changes in serum cholesterol levels is a fast, informative and ine xpensive method of evaluating the clinical course of the disease.