Dietary risk factors for dyslipidemia in urban Mexican children

Abstract

Background: There are not enough studies describing the risky food intake in different economic conditions that promote inadequate food intake practices. High total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG) and LDL, and low HDL can already be found in children. These conditions promote cardiovascular disease in adult life. In order to evaluate food intake patterns in school‐age children we designed a cross‐sectional comparative study. Methods: Three‐hundred and thirty children from elementary school, 9 to 12 years old, 65.5% from high and 34.5% from low Socioeconomic Status (SES) were evaluated. Lipid profile was obtained from a capillary blood sample, dyslipidemias were considered when TC > 200mg/dl, TG > 125 mg/dl, LDL > 130 mg/dl and HDL < 35mg/dl. Food intake was evaluated by a validated Risk‐Foods Frequency Questionnaire (100 foods with 54 high risk and 46 without risk for dyslipidemia, Cronbach¡− s alpha = 0.86). Low risk diet was defined ¡Ý 10 points and high risk with ¡Ü 10. Association was calculated by Odds Ratio. Results:All subjects had an OR=0.94. High SES showed an OR=1.63, while Low SES had OR=0.49. Intake of simple sugar had and OR=0.94 for TG; saturated fatty acids were associated with LDL (OR=0.82), HDL (OR=0.72) and TC (OR=0.88)Conclusions: Risky dietary intake is higher in better soceioeconomic conditions. Acknowledgement: This project was financed by UAEMex