Due to copyright issues, an electronic copy of the thesis must be ordered from the faculty. For the faculty to have time to process the order, the order must be received by the faculty at the latest 2 days before the public defence. Orders received later than 2 days before the defence will not be processed. After the public defence, please address any inquiries regarding the thesis to the candidate.
Trial Lecture – time and place
See Trial Lecture.
Adjudication committee
- First opponent: Professor David Jacobs, University of Minnesota, USA
- Second opponent: Professor Berit L. Heitmann, University of Copenhagen,
- Third member and chair of the evaluation committee: Professor Annetine Staff, University of Oslo
Chair of the Defence
Professor II John Munkhaugen, University of Oslo
Principal Supervisor
Professor Kirsten B. Holven, University of Oslo
Summary
Hypercholesterolemia and obesity are major metabolic risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. Maintaining optimal cholesterol levels and body weight from childhood throughout adult life lowers the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases.
The aims of the thesis were to explore the associations between maternal cholesterol levels and offspring cardiovascular disease risk markers in early life, and to explore cholesterol levels and their determinants in infants and children up to two years of age.
First, infants aged 6, 12 and 24 months and their mothers completed food frequency questionnaires of the children’s diet and provided dried blood spot samples. Second, parents in The Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study answered questionnaires during and up to eight years after pregnancy. Blood samples were obtained from the parents in mid-pregnancy and from offspring cord blood at birth.
Maternal prenatal and offspring cord blood high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, but not total cholesterol (TC) levels, were positively associated. Maternal and offspring TC levels were positively associated at 6-24 months of age. Maternal prenatal TC level was positively associated and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level was negatively associated with offspring body weight up to eight years of age.
The TC level at birth was 1/3 of the TC level at 6 months of age. Girls had higher cholesterol levels than boys at birth. There were large inter-individual differences in TC levels up to 24 months of age, and approximately 20 % had elevated TC level. Breastfeeding was associated with a transient higher TC level during infancy.
Overall, individuals with hypercholesterolemia should be identified before pregnancy and ideally in childhood, to enable the implementation of preventive measures against future cardiovascular diseases.
Additional information
Contact the research support staff.