Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 January 2007
To compare serum lipids and their changes during a family-based health education in children aged 6–17 years with or without the ɛ4 allele of the gene encoding apolipoprotein E (apoE).
An intervention study.
A family-based prevention of risk factors of coronary heart disease in Eastern Finland. The programme consisted of two counselling meetings at children's schools and three at children's homes.
Four hundred and thirty-nine children with a family history of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) participated in a family-based health education. The children were divided into two groups according to apoE genotype. The risk group consisted of 143 children having apoE ɛ4 allele (genotype ɛ3/4 or ɛ4/4) and the non-risk group of 296 children without apoE ɛ4 allele (ɛ2/3 or ɛ3/3). The final sample of the follow-up study included 354 (81%) children (114 and 240, respectively).
Baseline differences were found in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) (P = 0.007) and LDL-C/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) ratio (P = 0.030) among boys and in total cholesterol (TC)/HDL-C (P = 0.008) and LDL-C/HDL-C ratios (P = 0.006) among girls. Differences between groups in changes during the follow-up were observed only for TC/HDL-C ratio (P-value adjusted for age = 0.049) among boys.
At baseline, children with apoE ɛ4 allele had on average a more unfavourable lipid profile than those without apoE ɛ4 allele. However, the effect of about 33 months' family-based health education on plasma lipids did not depend on apoE genotype in children with a family history of CVD.