RESUMO
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To inquire into the relationship between lipoprotein lipase (LPL) gene D9N, N291S and S447X polymorphisms and the development of cardiovascular diseases in children with obesity.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RLFP) techniques were used to detect three common mutations of LPL gene exon D9N, N291S and S447X in 157 obese children and 175 normal controls. Plasma lipid and lipoprotein levels between children with different genotypes were compared.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The D9N and N291S gene mutations were not detected in either the obese or the control groups. There were no significant differences in the frequency of S447X gene mutation between the two groups. There were no significant differences in the levels of plasma lipid and lipoprotein between children with S447 and X447 genotypes.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>D9N and N291S gene mutations may not be risk factors associated with cardiovascular diseases in children with obesity. S447X gene mutation might not play an important role in the development of cardiovascular diseases in childhood.</p>