[Serum cholesterol and blood lipoproteins in the newborn infant]

The cholesterol content in blood serum and lipoprotein fractions was studied in 190 randomly selected and 386 specially selected newborns. There were no immature infants in either group. The content of cholesterol and triglycerides hardly differed in the two groups. Hypercholesterolemia (cholesterol above 118 mg/100 ml) was revealed in 9% of the infants. Analysis of cholesterol distribution in lipoprotein fractions showed no difference between boys and girls in these indices. In 11% of children hypercholesterolemia was accompanied by hypoalphalipoproteinemia. Hyperbetalipoproteinemia (cholesterol of low density lipoproteins above 64 mg/100 ml) was revealed in 7% of infants, in 10 of them in the presence of hypercholesterolemia. Newborns with a combination of hypercholesterolemia and hypoalphalipoproteinemia should evidently be kept under surveillance for many years during which preventive measures are applied.