857 CORD BLOOD HIGH AND LOW DENSITY LIPOPROTEINS: MALE-FEMALE DIFFERENCES

Since high density lipoprotein cholesterol (C-HDL) levels in adults are inversely related to risk of coronary heart disease, male(M): female(F) C-HDL differences may be important. Cord blood total cholesterol(TC), triglyceride(TG), and low density lipoprotein cholesterol(C-LDL) were studied in 464 live births (248 M, 216 F) to determine whether M:F differences in adults an in later childhood were also expressed in cord blood. In 873 schoolchildren (ages 6-17) from the Lipid Research Clinic prevalence study, F had higher TC and TG than M, slightly higher C-LDL, and ,at the end of adolescence, higher C-HDL. Mean ± SD TC, TG, C-HDL, C-LDL, and the ratio of C-HDL to C-LDL for the neonates were: At birth, F had higher TC(p .1, and C-HDL/C-LDL ratios in F and M did not differ, p>.1. Lipid and lipoprotein levels are under combined genetic and environmental control. M:F differences in C-HDL in adults and adolescents are manifested in cord blood, as are the higher schoolchild F levels of TC and C-LDL. C-HDL levels are higher in adult blacks (vs. whites), and in Russian vs. American males, but do not differ in cord blood. M:F C-HDL differences may be “genetic” while racial and cross-cultural differences may in part, reflect environmental effects.