Abstract
The prevalence of major atherosclerosis risk factors in Iran was evaluated in 1993 and again in 1999 in 4500 randomly selected children aged 2 to 18 years. Serum lipid levels were significantly higher than standard values in both sexes and in all age groups in the 1993 and 1999 studies. The increase in serum lipid levels was most marked in teenagers. High-density lipoprotein cholesterol was significantly lower than standard values in both studies. There were no significant differences in blood pressure percentiles or the prevalence of hypertension compared to standard values in 1993 and 1999. No case of diabetes mellitus was found. Although the prevalence of obesity was low in these studies (0.2% in 1993, and 0.35% in 1999), a two-fold rise in overweight subjects was noted (4% in 1993, 8% in 1999; p < 0.05), especially in school-aged and adolescent girls. In view of these results and the increasing incidence of coronary artery disease among young people, special attention should be paid to primary prevention.
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