Associations between dietary intakes and blood cholesterol concentrations at 31 months

Objective: The initial stages of atherosclerosis have been shown to occur i n children as young as 3. Elevated total and LDL cholesterol concentrations and low HDL concentrations are a well-established risk factor for atherosc lerosis. The objective of this study was to investigate the dietary determi nants of blood lipid concentrations at 31 months of age. Subjects: A randomly selected group of children (214 boys, 175 girls) in so uth-west England forming part of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Pregnancy a nd Childhood (ALSPAC) cohort. Design: Three-day dietary records were obtained at Is months. At 31 months a non-fasting blood sample was taken and analysed for total and HDL cholest erol and triglyceride, and measures of height and weight were taken. Results: Among boys, total cholesterol concentrations were positively assoc iated with the intake of total fat (r = 0.209, P = 0.002) and saturated fat ty acids (r = 0.211, P = 0.002). Among girls. HDLC was positively associate d with energy intake (r = 0.204, P = 0.018), and negatively associated with intakes of polyunsaturated fat, saturated fat and sugar in multivariate an alysis. There were no associations between the intakes of non-starch polysa ccharides (fibre) or dietary cholesterol and total or HDL cholesterol conce ntrations in either sex. Among boys, higher intakes of breakfast cereals we re associated with lower total cholesterol (r = -0.187, P = 0.008). Among g irls, higher intakes of biscuits and meat and meat products were associated with higher HDLC concentrations. Conclusions: These data suggest that the dietary determinants of blood lipi d concentrations differ between boys and girls. Reducing saturated fat inta ke in boys would be likely to lead to an improvement in blood lipid profile s. In this study there is no evidence to suggest that an increase in the in take of polyunsaturated fat by pre-school children would result in improved blood lipid profiles. Sponsorship: Northern and Yorkshire Regional Health Authority NHS Research and Development Programme on Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke.