Lipoprotein cholesterol in the serum of children, as determined independently by two different methods.

We separately evaluated split specimens of serum for lipoprotein cholesterol in 38 five- to 14-year-old children, by the heparin/Ca2+ precipitation method and the ultracentrifugation/dextran sulfate precipitation method. Statistical analysis of the results indicated an excellent agreement (especially in beta- and alpha-lipoprotein cholesterol values) between results by the two methods. The percentage of alpha-lipoprotein cholesterol (mean +/- SD: 38.6 +/- 5.0) in children further confirmed the earlier observations that cholesterol derived from alpha-lipoprotein in children constitutes a relatively greater part of the serum total cholesterol than is true of adults.