Normal serum cholesterol values. Percentile ranking in a middle-class pediatric population

We determined the serum cholesterol values of 2,033 normal children, ages 2 weeks to 19 years. A test that could be performed in a physician's office was standardized and utilized. It was found that the serum cholesterol values were age-dependent. Analysis of the serum cholesterol values in the various age groups revealed that they were not statistically normally distributed. For this reason, a nomogram similar to the familiar height and weight charts for children was constructed. The nomogram permits the physician to rank a given patient with other children of his age, and to follow the changes in serum cholesterol values in a given patient as he grows older.