[Moderate hypercholesterolemia in children. An index of familial pathology?].

Out of 44 children (with 200 mg/dl cholesterol) 22, with constantly high levels of cholesterol were studied. All belong to a children population from Madrid which 95 percentile for cholesterol was 204 mg/dl. Fifty nine subjects, first degree relatives of these 22 children (17 families) plus probands were studied to determine if moderately elevated cholesterol levels during infancy are related to any form of familial lipidic disorder. Serum lipidic levels, anthropometric measurements, dietary habits a history of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ACVD), were evaluated in all these 81 individuals. Hypercholesterolemia was encountered in 13 of the 59 non probands and high triglyceride levels in 6 people. More than one member of the family was to have some form of lipidic disorder in 12 of 17 families (71%) and in 10 the metabolic abnormality was of a type associated with a higher risk to suffer ACVD. Five families had a combined hyperlipidemia of the multiple lipoproteinemic (4 familiar heterozygotic hypercholesterolemia and one hyperlipidemia with a double phenotype II B and V). All family members were apparently healthy and had no knowledge of their underlying lipidic abnormality. In this group of families antecedents of morbi-mortality because of atherosclerosis were more frequent that in group control families. Authors conclude that a moderately elevated serum cholesterol level during infancy may be a marker for various familiar lipidic disorders. Detection in infantile population of serum cholesterol levels 200 mg/dl should prompt us to perform a more complete lipidic evaluation both in children as well as in their families.