[Lipid- and lipoprotein-cholesterol levels in the first 8 months of low-weight (less than or equal to 1500 g) premature infants].

Lipid levels were determined in 30 low birthweight (less than or equal to 1500 g) preterm infants (birthweight: 1122 +/- 192 g, gestational age: 29,0 +/- 1,7 weeks, mean +/- SD) on the 1st, 14th, 28th, 42nd and 56th days of life. Triglyceride and cholesterol were measured by a Boehringer kit, while HDL-cholesterol and its subfractions by microprecipitation methods. Both triglyceride and cholesterol levels increased significantly from the 1st to the 14th and from the 14th to the 28th days. VLDL + LDL-cholesterol level increased significantly by the 14th day, while HDL-cholesterol level by the 28th day. From the 1st to the 14th day the increment of cholesterol levels was significantly higher in breast milk-fed newborns (n = 18) than in those receiving formula (n = 12). Consequently, on the 14th, 28th and 42nd days cholesterol levels were significantly higher in breast milk-fed newborns than in those receiving formula. By the age of two months, however, the difference diminished.