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Review
. 2023 Feb 22;15(5):1088.
doi: 10.3390/nu15051088.

Nutritional Treatment of Hypertriglyceridemia in Childhood: From Healthy-Heart Counselling to Life-Saving Diet

Maria Elena Capra  1   2   3 , Giacomo Biasucci  1   3   4 , Giuseppe Banderali  5 , Cristina Pederiva  3   5
Affiliations
Review

Nutritional Treatment of Hypertriglyceridemia in Childhood: From Healthy-Heart Counselling to Life-Saving Diet

Maria Elena Capra et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Hypertriglyceridemia is a lipid disorder with a varying prevalence; it is very common if we consider triglyceride plasma values slightly above the threshold, whereas it is extremely rare if only severely elevated triglyceride levels are considered. In most cases, severe forms of hypertriglyceridemia are caused by genetic mutations in the genes that regulate triglyceride metabolism, thus leading to extreme triglyceride plasma values and acute pancreatitis risk. Secondary forms of hypertriglyceridemia are usually less severe and are mainly associated with weight excess, but they can also be linked to liver, kidney, endocrinologic, or autoimmune diseases or to some class of drugs. Nutritional intervention is the milestone treatment for patients with hypertriglyceridemia and it has to be modulated on the underlying cause and on triglyceride plasma levels. In pediatric patients, nutritional intervention must be tailored according to specific age-related energy, growth and neurodevelopment requests. Nutritional intervention is extremely strict in case of severe hypertriglyceridemia, whereas it is similar to good healthy nutritional habits counselling for mild forms, mainly related to wrong habits and lifestyles, and to secondary causes. The aim of this narrative review is to define different nutritional intervention for various forms of hypertriglyceridemia in children and adolescents.

Keywords: childhood; hypertriglyceridemia; nutrition; overweight; pediatrics.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
TG exogenous pathway.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Protein-rich foods advised or not for patients with FCS, derived and adapted from [28].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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