Background: Serum lipid trends in children and adolescents are predictors of the future prevalence of cardiovascular disease in adults.
Methods: Data were obtained from cross-sectional studies conducted in 2004 and 2014. A total of 3249 children aged 6–18 years were included in the present study; serum total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and triglycerides (TG) were measured.
Results: Overall, upward trends in mean TC, non-HDL-C, and LDL-C levels, and in geometric mean TG levels, were observed (all P < 0.001). Mean HDL-C levels significantly decreased between 2004 and 2014 (from 1.54 mmol/L to 1.47 mmol/L; P < 0.001). The prevalence of abnormal levels of serum lipids, with the exception of the prevalence of low HDL-C (P = 0.503), significantly increased over the study period (all P < 0.05). The prevalence of hyperlipidemia (from 13.3%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 11.6%–15.0% to 24.5%; 95% CI, 22.4%–26.6%; P < 0.001) and dyslipidemia (from 18.8%; 95% CI, 16.9%–20.7% to 28.9%; 95% CI, 26.7%–31.3%; P < 0.001) also increased from 2004 to 2014. The prevalence of abnormal serum lipids increased, and mean serum lipid levels, with the exception of TC levels, worsened in subjects with obesity compared with non-overweight subjects, as well as in subjects with mixed obesity compared with non-obese subjects (P < 0.05 for all).
Conclusions: Adverse trends in serum lipid concentrations over the past 10 years were observed among children aged 6–9 years, with the exception of specific lipids, and among adolescents aged 10–18 years, from several schools in Beijing, China.