Blood lipid tests in 2017.

Strong epidemiological evidence supports a causal relationship between dyslipidemia and atherosclerotic cardio-vascular disease, which remains the leading cause of death and morbidity worldwide. A lipid profile (total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, triglycerides) is recommended at the initial evaluation for the assessment of the cardio-vascular risk. A commentary of the lipid profile for the clinician and mostly for the patient should be stated on the lab report. Quantifying the cardio-vascular risk using the SCORE (systematic coronary risk estimation) system, as recommended by the Haute autorité de santé (HAS), is the starting point to establish therapeutic goals and treatment strategies. It may be important to emphasize therapeutic goals in lipid reports in order to better monitor lipid profiles at appropriate intervals to assess compliance and therapeutic efficacy for patients on lipid lowering therapy.

Pediatric TSH Reference Intervals and Prevalence of High Thyroid Antibodies in the Lebanese Population.

The aims of this study are to establish reference values for TSH in Lebanese schoolchildren; to look at the relationship between TSH and age, gender, BMI, socioeconomic status (SES), and thyroid antibodies (TAb); and to investigate the prevalence of abnormal TAb in this population. 974 Lebanese schoolchildren aged 8-18 years were recruited from 10 schools of different SES. Third-generation TSH, TPO-Ab, and Tg-Ab measurements were performed using the IMMULITE chemiluminescent immunoassay. The mean TSH is 2.06 ± 1.05 µUI/ml. TSH values are inversely correlated with age (p < 0.0001), are higher in boys than in girls (resp., 2.14 ± 1.10 and 1.98 ± 0.99 µUI/ml, p = 0.017), and are positively correlated with BMI (p < 0.0001). They are also significantly higher in subjects from low-SES schools (p = 0.03) and in girls with positive TAb (p = 0.026). In boys, TSH is independently associated with age, BMI, and schools' SES (p = 0.01, p = 0.03, and p = 0.026, resp.) while in girls, the association is only significant for age and TAb (p = 0.0001 and p = 0.015, resp.). The prevalence of TAb is 4.3% (3% for TPO-Ab and 2.1% for Tg-Ab). Our results showed higher TSH values in the pediatric Lebanese population compared to western populations. TSH varies according to age, gender, BMI, and SES and is associated in girls with TAb.