Multicenter study of atherosclerosis precursors in Finnish children--pilot study of 8-year-old boys.

A multicentre study was launched to analyze the prevalence of risk factors for coronary heart disease and their determinants in Finnish infants, children and adolescents and to provide facts for the planning of intervention. The present report gives the results of the pilot study conducted among 264 8-year-old boys in 5 cities and corresponding rural areas in various parts of Finland. Data on eating habits were obtained from the parents by means of a questionnaire. Fasting serum specimens were analyzed in 249 subjects for cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides, and immunoreactive insulin (IRI). The fatty acid composition of serum lipids was determined in 244 subjects by gas chromatography. Soft vegetable margarine was used on bread by 29% of the boys in the rural and 46% in the urban areas. Low fat or skim milk, vegetables and fruit were used more often in the western than in the eastern part of the country. The mean values for serum lipids were as follows: cholesterol 5.0, HDL-cholesterol 1.4, and triglycerides 0.7 mmol/1. The proportion of linoleic acid in the fatty acid cholesterol ester fraction was higher than expected, 53%. The IRI values ranged from 2 to 55 (mean, antilog, 9.4) mU/l. The results served as background material for the main study of blood pressure, anthropometric, biochemical and socioeconomic variables.