Religious observance and plasma lipids and lipoproteins among 17-year-old Jewish residents of Jerusalem

The association of religious observance and plasma lipids and lipoproteins was studied in a sample of 673 Jewish residents of Jerusalem ages 17-18 years. Religious observance was classified according to the parents' ranking of their perceived degree of religiosity. The study group included children whose parents were orthodox Jews who pedantically observed religious commandments, children of traditional parents who observed some of the rules, and children of nonobservant secular parents. Plasma levels of cholesterol, triglyceride, and low-density lipoprotein were higher in secular children than in the orthodox group. These associations were independent of sex, origin, social class, body mass, and season. High-density lipoprotein cholesterol was somewhat higher in the orthodox group than in the secular children although this difference was not statistically significant. Regression analysis showed that offspring's environment and parental phenotype were the most important predictors of lipid concentrations in adolescents. The association of religious observance with plasma lipids and lipoproteins, however, was independent of parental phenotype lipid values and the contribution of offspring and parents' environment. These findings are consistent with similar differences in plasma lipids described previously among the parents, as well as with the lower incidence of myocardial infarction in the orthodox religious group, which has been shown in the Israeli adult population.