Associations Between Lipid Profiles and Vitamin A and D Deficiencies Among Children and Adolescents in Zhejiang Province, China: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: This study investigates the associations between lipid profiles, including triglycerides (TGs), total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and vitamin A (VA) and vitamin D (VD) deficiencies among children and adolescents in Zhejiang Province, China. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted from 2022 to 2024 and included 9039 children and adolescents aged 6&ndash:17 years who participated in the provincial nutrition surveillance in Zhejiang Province. Blood samples were collected to measure the concentrations of TG, TC, HDL-C, LDL-C, VA and VD. Results: The prevalence of elevated TG, elevated TC, low HDL-C, and elevated LDL-C was 21.0%, 11.6%, 4.7% and 5.1% among children and adolescents aged 6&ndash:17 years, respectively. There were significant differences with respect to elevated TG and low HDL-C prevalence between sex (&chi:2 = 10.303 and 7.27, p = 0.006 and 0.026). There were significant differences with respect to elevated TC and low HDL-C prevalence between urban areas and rural areas (&chi:2 = 13.289 and 10.195, p = 0.001 and 0.006). There were significant differences with respect to elevated TG, elevated TC, low HDL-C, and elevated LDL-C prevalence among children with or without obesity/overweight (&chi:2 = 209.828, 58.54, 171.972, and 146.256, p &lt: 0.001). There were significant differences with respect to elevated TC and low HDL-C prevalence among children with or without vitamin D deficiency/vitamin D insufficiency (&chi:2 = 33.37 and 56.848, p &lt: 0.001). Ordinal regression analysis revealed that sex and obesity/overweight were associated with critical/abnormal TG (&chi:2 = 340.03, p &lt: 0.001), sex, age group, location and obesity/overweight were associated with critical/abnormal TC (&chi:2 = 255.125, p &lt: 0.001), age group, location, obesity/overweight and vitamin D deficiency/vitamin D insufficiency were associated with critical/abnormal HDL-C (&chi:2 = 458.527, p &lt: 0.001), and age group, obesity/overweight were associated with critical/abnormal LDL-C (&chi:2 = 164.380, p &lt: 0.001). Conclusions: Elevated TG, elevated TC, low HDL-C, and elevated LDL-C are prevalent in this population, with notable differences based on sex, urban vs. rural residence, and obesity/overweight status. Furthermore, vitamin D deficiency was linked to elevated TC and low HDL-C prevalence. Future interventions should focus on targeted public health strategies to mitigate these disparities and promote healthier lipid profiles in children and adolescents.