Association Between Serum Folate Concentrations and Dyslipidemia Among Children and Adolescents in Zhejiang Province, China: A Cross-Sectional Study
- 1School of Public Health, Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou 310059, China
- 2Zhejiang Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 3399 Bin Sheng Road, Binjiang District, Hangzhou 310051, China
Abstract
Background: Dyslipidemia can emerge during childhood and persist into adulthood. Although folate is involved in pathways relevant to lipid metabolism, its association with lipid abnormalities in children and adolescents remains unclear. We examined the associations of serum folate concentrations with lipid parameters and dyslipidemia subtypes in this population. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 1379 participants aged 6–17 years from the 2024 Zhejiang Provincial Nutrition and Health Surveillance Program, China. Serum folate was measured by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. Associations with seven lipid parameters and four dyslipidemia subtypes were evaluated using multivariable regression, with additional restricted cubic spline, subgroup, and sensitivity analyses. Results: In fully adjusted models, serum folate was positively associated with TC (β = 0.009, 95% CI: 0.002–0.016), HDL-C (β = 0.007, 95% CI: 0.004–0.010), and ApoA1 (β = 0.003, 95% CI: 0.001–0.005) and inversely associated with TG (β = −0.011, 95% CI: −0.016 to −0.006). Each 1 ng/mL increment was associated with lower odds of hypertriglyceridemia (OR = 0.96, 95% CI: 0.94–0.99) and low HDL-C (OR = 0.91, 95% CI: 0.82–0.99). Quartile and restricted cubic spline analyses supported the hypertriglyceridemia association. Conclusions: Higher serum folate concentrations were associated with lower TG, higher HDL-C, and lower odds of hypertriglyceridemia. Evidence for an association with low HDL-C was limited and inconsistent across analyses. Prospective studies are needed to establish temporality.
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BibTeX
@article{liu2026association,
title = {{Association Between Serum Folate Concentrations and Dyslipidemia Among Children and Adolescents in Zhejiang Province, China: A Cross-Sectional Study}},
author = {Chen Liu and Yi Wang and Lichun Huang and Danting Su and Mengjie He and Dan Han and Yan Wang and Xinhan Zhang and Peiwei Xu and Ronghua Zhang},
journal = {Nutrients},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/nu18213556},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/18/21/3556},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Association Between Serum Folate Concentrations and Dyslipidemia Among Children and Adolescents in Zhejiang Province, China: A Cross-Sectional Study
AU - Chen Liu
AU - Yi Wang
AU - Lichun Huang
AU - Danting Su
AU - Mengjie He
AU - Dan Han
AU - Yan Wang
AU - Xinhan Zhang
AU - Peiwei Xu
AU - Ronghua Zhang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/28
JO - Nutrients
DO - 10.3390/nu18213556
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/18/21/3556
AB - Background: Dyslipidemia can emerge during childhood and persist into adulthood. Although folate is involved in pathways relevant to lipid metabolism, its association with lipid abnormalities in children and adolescents remains unclear. We examined the associations of serum folate concentrations with lipid parameters and dyslipidemia subtypes in this population. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 1379 participants aged 6–17 years from the 2024 Zhejiang Provincial Nutrition and Health Surveillance Program, China. Serum folate was measured by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. Associations with seven lipid parameters and four dyslipidemia subtypes were evaluated using multivariable regression, with additional restricted cubic spline, subgroup, and sensitivity analyses. Results: In fully adjusted models, serum folate was positively associated with TC (β = 0.009, 95% CI: 0.002–0.016), HDL-C (β = 0.007, 95% CI: 0.004–0.010), and ApoA1 (β = 0.003, 95% CI: 0.001–0.005) and inversely associated with TG (β = −0.011, 95% CI: −0.016 to −0.006). Each 1 ng/mL increment was associated with lower odds of hypertriglyceridemia (OR = 0.96, 95% CI: 0.94–0.99) and low HDL-C (OR = 0.91, 95% CI: 0.82–0.99). Quartile and restricted cubic spline analyses supported the hypertriglyceridemia association. Conclusions: Higher serum folate concentrations were associated with lower TG, higher HDL-C, and lower odds of hypertriglyceridemia. Evidence for an association with low HDL-C was limited and inconsistent across analyses. Prospective studies are needed to establish temporality.
SN - 2072-6643
ER -