PURPOSE: To evaluate the lipid profile of school children from low-income families and its relation with obesity. METHODOLOGY: The study population comprised 257 school children and adolescents, aged between 3 and 14 years, attending institutions called COMBEMI, in the town of Itajaí, SC. Socio-economic data were collected for characterizing the sample. Lipid concentrations of cholesterol (TC), HDL-c (high density lipoprotein) and LDL-c (low density lipoprotein) fractions, and triglyceride levels (TGL) were determined and evaluated according to the cut-off point proposed in the III Diretrizes Brasileiras sobre Dislipidemias (Third Brazilian Guidelines on Dyslipidemias). Obesity was defined according to the weight/height index - z-score for the children; and to the Body Mass Index, in percentages, for the adolescents, with cut-off points higher than 2 and the 95 percentile, respectively. Data were analyzed according to the "student" t test, Mann-Whitney and chi-square. The association between dyslipidemias and obesity was determined using "odds ratio". RESULTS: The average income per capita was R$ 86.65. Averages for CT, TGL, HDL-c and LDL-c were 145, 61, 82 and 49 mg/dl, respectively. Hypercholesterolemia was present in 3.1% of the sample, hypertriglyceridemia in 4.7%, raised LDL-c in 6.6%, and inadequate levels of HDL-c in 17.9%. The percentage of obesity found in the school children was 7.4%. No differences were observed in relation to gender. Low levels of HDL-c were strongly associated with obesity (OR: 3.27 IC= 1.08-9.74). CONCLUSION: The results suggest a differentiated lipid profile, with lower averages than those in the literature, and only HDL-c being associated with the presence of obesity among school children of low-income families.
Hyperlipidemia; Hypercholesterolemia; Obesity; Children; Adolescents; Cardiovascular diseases
