The effect of ambient temperature on lipid metabolism in children: From a prospective cohort study

Background: Dyslipidemia is increasingly recognized as an essential risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. However, few studies illustrated the effects of ambient temperature exposure (TE) on lipid levels in children. The study aimed to examine the association between ambient TE and lipid levels in children. Methods: Based on a prospective cohort, a total of 2423 children (with 4466 lipids measure person-time) were collected from 2014 to 2019. The meteorological observation data and adjusted variables were collected. Mixed-effect models and generalized additive mixed model (GAMM) were applied to investigate the association between ambient TE and lipid levels. Results: A significant negative association was observed between TE and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) or total cholesterol (TC) levels both in all children [LDL-C, beta(95%CI) = -0.350(-0.434,-0.265), P < 0.001; TC, beta(95%CI) = -0.274(-0.389,-0.160), P <0.0011 and by different sex group. However, no significant association was found in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) or triglycerides (TG) levels. The estimated optimal ambient TEs for LDL-C were 18.273 degree celsius and 18.024 degree celsius for girls and boys, respectively. For TC, the optimal ambient TEs were 17.949 degree celsius and 18.024 degree celsius, respectively. With ambient TE decreased, the risk of dyslipidemia increased for both boys [OR = 0.032(0.006,0.179), P < 0.0011 and girls [OR = 0.582(0.576,0.587), P <0.0011. Conclusion: This study provided a comprehensive illustration about the associations between ambient TE and lipid levels in different sex and ages from a prospective cohort study. The findings will provide evidence for the government to prevent dyslipidemia in vulnerable children through regulating TE.