High-density-lipoprotein-cholesterol in protein-energy malnutrition.

1. Plasma total cholesterol, high-density-lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol total protein, albumin and globulin levels were estimated in blood samples from thirty children with kwashiorkor, thirty-five with marasmus, twenty-eight with marasmic-kwashiorkor and twenty-seven control children. 2. HDL-cholesterol was estimated after the very-low-density and low-density lipoproteins were precipitated from the plasma with heparin and manganese chloride. 3. The distribution of HDL-cholesterol in the control and in the children with PEM was skewed and the range of values was wide. The values were independent of age and sex. 4. After logarithmic transformation of the HDL-cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol:total cholesterol values, the geometric mean values for the three groups of children with PEM were significantly decreased when compared with values for the control children. 5. The decrease in the mean HDL-cholesterol value for the children with kwashiorkor was more than for children with marasmus and marasmic-kwashiorkor.