Abstract
Primary lesions of atherosclerosis, which will ultimately cause coronary heart disease or stroke in adults, are already present in children in their teens. Hyperlipidemia is well known to be a risk factor for atherosclerosis. Recently, studies in Europe and America have found that serum lipids levels can be traced from childhood through to adulthood. Based on a study we have conducted in Japan, it appears that several percent of school-aged children (aged 6 to 14 years) have abnormalities of serum lipids such as increased levels of serum total cholesterol or decreased levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Based on these results from several studies, it has been proposed that attempts should be made to prevent atherosclerosis by improving hyperlipidemia in infancy and childhood. In order to achieve this, the importance of health education from early childhood, especially with regard to favourable dietary habits to prevent hyperlipidemia or obesity, has been emphasized. Also, the necessity of mass-screening for detection of hypercholesterolemia has been investigated, and such screening has actually started on a regional basis.
In the present paper, we discuss the problems of childhood hyperlipidemia as a risk facter for atherosclerosis, and also means for preventing adult diseases which are caused by atherosclerosis from childhood.
