Trends of lipoprotein variables from childhood to adulthood in offspring of parents with coronary heart disease: The Bogalusa heart study

Although dyslipidemia among offspring of parents with coronary heart disease (CHD) has been known, the development of this adverse relationship with respect to specific lipoprotein variables from childhood to young adulthood has not been elucidated. This aspect was examined in a young adult cohort with (n = 271) and without (n = 805) a parental history of CHD followed longitudinally since childhood by repeated surveys from 1973 to 1991. Trends in fasting lipoprotein variables by parental CHD status were assessed by Lowess smoothing curve and Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE). In multivariate analyses adjusted for race and sex, parental CHD associated positively with low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C, P <.01) and triglycerides (P <.05) mainly at the young adulthood age, whereas a positive association was noted with very-low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL-C) during both childhood and young adulthood (P <.05). The positive association between parental CHD and LDL-C in young adulthood persisted independently of body mass index (BMI) and fasting insulin, but disappeared when fasting glucose was added to the model. With respect to triglycerides and VLDL-C, inclusion of BMI, insulin, and/or glucose eliminated the adverse association with parental CHD. These observations suggest that parental CHD is just one more explanatory variable that loses its partial contribution to lipoprotein profiles in their offspring when other strongly interrelated contributory variables such as age, body fatness, and measures of glucose homeostasis are taken into account. Information on these risk variables in conjunction with parental or family history of CHD may enhance the potential of CHD risk assessment in youth.