Cholesterol among children of men with myocardial infarction.

Plasma cholesterol levels were obtained on 90 children of 39 men with premature myocardial infarction and 86 children of 39 healthy men. The mean cholesterol among children of affected men (195.1 mg/100 ml) was higher than among children of healthy men (176.6 mg/100 ml) (P equal to .009). Higher mean levels were demonstrable at each of nine age groups from 1 to 21 years(P equal to .004). Levels greater than 230 mg/100 ml were found in 16.7% of children of affected fathers and 4.7% of children of healthy fathers, a ratio of 3.6 to 1 (P equal to .01). These findings are compatible with the hypothesis that elevated childhood cholesterol level offers a mechanism whereby family history predicts coronary disease. A dip in cholesterol during adolescence, a finding that varies with population studied, was demonstratable among children of both affected healthy men.