Isolated Low HDL Cholesterol Emerges as the Most Common Lipid Abnormality Among Obese Adolescents

A 12-hour fasting lipid profile was obtained from 88 otherwise healthy obese (BMI ≥ 95%) adolescents (age 16 ± 1 years, BMI 36 ± 1 kg/m2, 55 males, 33 females, 57% Hispanic, 23% African American, 19% Caucasian, 1% Asian American). About 56% of the obese adolescents exhibited lipid abnormalities based on cutoff points established by American Heart Association (AHA) guidelines, and about 57% exhibited lipid abnormalities based on percentile values established by the Lipid Research Clinic Pediatric Prevalence Study. Isolated low high-density lipoprotein—cholesterol (HDL-C) was the most common abnormality (43% based on AHA, 36% based on the Lipid Research Clinic Pediatric Prevalence Study) among the obese adolescents with lipid disorders. While there was no significant statistical difference (SSD) between genders in the levels of total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein—cholesterol (LDL-C), triglyceride (TG) levels were significantly higher (P = .003) in males (120 ± 11 mg/dL) than in females (81 ± 7 mg/...