Pubertal maturation and weight status are associated with dyslipidemia among children and adolescents in Northwest China

Dyslipidemia is one of major risk factors for cardiovascular disease. The early detection and treatment of dyslipidemia can reduce cardiovascular disease risk. A cross-sectional study was carried out in Ningxia, China to determine the prevalence of dyslipidemia and its association with body mass index (BMI) and pubertal stage. A total of 1783 students were selected from middle schools and high schools in September 2014 using stratified random cluster sampling. Serum triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) were measured by using MOL-300 automatic biochemical analyzer with associated kits. The prevalence of adolescents with one abnormal serum lipid component was 43.2% and was significantly different across three pubertal stages ( p