Metabolic abnormalities are usually reported in hypertensive patients. These metabolic alterations seem to begin in childhood. The young offspring of hypertensive parents have not been studied thoroughly for metabolic alterations. The aim of this study was to examine the level of total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, VLDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, uric acid, glycemia, aldosterone, and plasma renin activity in a population of 42 young, slender normotensive subjects with positive family history of hypertension (FH+) or negative family history of hypertension (FH-). Measurements were made in 20 young normotensive subjects (age 21.1+/-2.2 years, 11 males, 15 white, 5 oriental, body mass index of 22.1+/-2.3 kg/m2) with FH+ and 22 young normotensive subjects (age 19.9+/-1.4 years, 17 males, 17 white, 5 oriental, body mass index of 22.1+/-2.3 kg/m2) with FH-. The total cholesterol (4.47+/-0.8 versus 3.95+/-0.6 mmol/L), LDL cholesterol (2.74+/-0.63 versus 2.36+/-0.61 mmol/L), VLDL cholesterol (0.5+/-0.25 versus 0.35+/-0.09 mmol/L), and triglycerides (2.52+/-1.26 versus 1.76+/-0.5 mmol/L) were significantly elevated (P<.05) in the FH+ group compared with the FH- group. The total cholesterol/HDL cholesterol ratio was significantly higher in the group with a positive family history of hypertension (3.75+/-0.02 versus 3.11+/-0.02, P<.05). Glycemia was slightly elevated in the FH+ group (2.16+/-0.29 mmol/L) but was not significantly different from that of the FH- group (2+/-0.2 mmol/L). Uric acid, plasma renin activity, and aldosterone were similar in both groups. We conclude that young, slender normotensive subjects with a positive history of hypertension show alterations in lipid metabolism, suggesting a positive correlation between lipid metabolism and hypertension heredity.