Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Toho University Graduate School of Medicine.
Department of International Health and Collaboration, National Institute of Public Health.
J Atheroscler Thromb. 2022 Jan 1;29(1):38-49. doi: 10.5551/jat.59790. Epub 2021 Jan 7.
This study aimed to evaluate the tracking pattern of serum total cholesterol (TC) levels among Japanese children using data collected continuously for 9 years and examine the relationship between childhood and adulthood TC levels.
TC levels of 2,608 first grade primary school children enrolled during 1981-2014 from two Japanese towns were measured during annual health check-ups. Nine-year trajectories of estimated TC levels stratified by TC quartiles in the first grade were analyzed using a mixed effects model. Adulthood TC levels were measured in participants who underwent health check-ups in the same area.
Overall, 1,322 boys and 1,286 girls in the first grade of a primary school were followed for 9 years. Trajectories of TC levels during the period stratified by TC quartiles in the first grade differed significantly and did not cross each other for both sexes. Childhood data of 242 adult participants were linked with their adulthood data; the mean of age was late 20s for both sexes. The average TC levels in adulthood increased from the first to the fourth quartile in the first grade. Additionally, trajectories of TC levels differed between boys and girls. The later the admission year, the more elevated the TC levels in girls.
Among Japanese children, TC levels were strongly tracked from childhood to adolescence for 9 years, and elevated TC levels in childhood were related to elevated TC levels in adulthood. Maintaining appropriate TC levels during childhood may be important to prevent future coronary artery diseases.
本研究旨在通过连续 9 年收集的数据评估日本儿童血清总胆固醇（TC）水平的变化轨迹，并探讨儿童期和成年期 TC 水平之间的关系。
1981 年至 2014 年期间，在两个日本城镇就读一年级的 2608 名小学生参加了年度健康检查，检测了他们的 TC 水平。使用混合效应模型分析了按一年级 TC 四分位数分层的估计 TC 水平的 9 年变化轨迹。在同一地区进行健康检查的参与者测量了成年 TC 水平。
总体而言，在一所小学一年级的 1322 名男孩和 1286 名女孩中进行了 9 年的随访。按一年级 TC 四分位数分层的 TC 水平变化轨迹存在显著差异，且男女之间没有交叉。242 名成年参与者的儿童数据与他们的成年数据相关联；男女的平均年龄均为 20 多岁后期。成年期的平均 TC 水平从一年级第一四分位数到第四四分位数逐渐升高。此外，TC 水平的变化轨迹在男女之间存在差异。入学年份越晚，女孩的 TC 水平越高。
在日本儿童中，TC 水平从儿童期到青春期 9 年的变化轨迹较强，儿童期升高的 TC 水平与成年期升高的 TC 水平相关。在儿童期保持适当的 TC 水平可能对预防未来的冠心病很重要。
