ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to determine if apo E phenotypes have any effect on the serum lipoprotein response to dietary intervention in children with hypercholesterolemia. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We have selected 76 children with total serum cholesterol levels higher than 200 mg/dL. At diagnosis, each patient met with a member of our clinic that established dietary recommendations (total and saturated fat intake: 30 and 10%, respectively, of total energy intake). At diagnosis and after 6 months of therapy we determined a lipoprotein profile. RESULTS: After 6 months of therapy, there was only a significant change in children with phenotype E3/E4, with significant decreases in serum total cholesterol (from 247 +/- 43 to 231 +/- 47 mg/dL, p = 0.002), LDL-cholesterol (from 164 +/- 47 to 149 +/- 48 mg/dL, p = 0.002) and triglycerides (from 81 +/- 36 to 71 +/- 31 mg/dL, p = 0.028) concentrations. Absolute and % delta differences in serum lipoprotein concentrations before and after dietary treatment do not show significant differences between apo E phenotype groups. CONCLUSIONS: In the group studied, apo E phenotypes do not determine the response to a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet in children with hypercholesterolemia. To know the factors that determine the variability in the response to dietary intervention in children with hypercholesterolemia it would be interesting to study other familial and genetic factors.