Prevalence and Correlates of Dyslipidemia among Adults in Saudi Arabia: Results from a National Survey

Abstract

Data were collected and analyzed from a cross-sectional study using the World Health Organization's STEPwise approach, to estimate the prevalence of various types of dyslipidemia and determine their associated factors among adults in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The study population included 4490 Saudi adults aged 15 years and older who were selected by a stratified, multistage, cluster random sampling technique. Lipid profile was determined by spectrophotometrically by biochemical methods, high total cholesterol (TC) was defined as TC of 5.2 mmol/L or more, hypertriglyceridemia as serum triglycerides level 1.7 mmol/L or more and low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) as serum HDL-C 0.9 mmol/L or less, LDL-C 3.35 mmol/L or more and TC/HDL ratio 5 or more. Of the 4490 subjects (94.4% of total sample) included in the final analysis, 51% were females, 23% of study subjects were less than 25 years and 11% were 55 or more years of age. The overall prevalence of dyslipidemia ranged from about 20% to 40%. The highest prevalence was for triglycerides where about 44% of all subjects were affected. About a fifth of the subjects had high level of total cholesterol. Males had significantly higher prevalence of all types of dyslipidemia than female except LDL-C and TC. Higher dyslipidemia prevalence of total cholesterol and triglycerides were significantly found in older subjects, illiterates and housekeepers. Lower prevalence rates for HDL-C was significantly observed in retired and youngest subjects. There were significant regional variations and significantly higher prevalence of dyslipidemia among hypertensives, diabetics, obese/overweight, smokers and physically inactive subjects. There were no significant differences according to income or fruits and vegetable consumption. Logistic regression analysis revealed that obesity/overweight, gender, age, diabetes were the most important significant predictors of dyslipidemia. The findings of this study suggest that the prevalence of dyslipidemia is high in Saudi Arabia. Multisectorial intervention strategies are needed targeting the predictors and significant risk factors identified.

Profile of Non-Communicable Disease Risk Factors Among Employees at a Saudi University

“…Low HDL was detected in 36.8% of participants. The results of the current study are in agreement with a previous study conducted in Saudi Arabia where the prevalence of dyslipidemia rate was in the range of 20-44% (Al-Kaabba et al, 2012), moreover, Saudi Arabia's STEP Report revealed that at least one fifth of the included population had high cholesterol level (Saudi Arabia STEP Report, 2005). Knowledge on the clustering pattern of NCDs risk factors may guide the design of more effective health promotion initiatives (de Costa et al, 2013).…”

“…These findings highlight the necessity for screening programs for early case detection and as initial platform for health education initiatives for NCDs prevention. Dyslipidemia is an important risk factor for many NCDs (Al-Kaabba et al, 2012) and there is some evidence of its association is associated with some cancers (Jafri and Karas, 2010 levels were detected in 32% and 36.6% respectively. Women had statistically significant higher levels of total cholesterol and TG than men.…”

Prevalence of lipid abnormalities in Poland. The NATPOL 2011 survey

“…Lower levels of serum cholesterol were detected in a study carried out in Saudi Arabia on a population of about 4500 people, but the study included individuals aged 15 years and older. Mean TC levels were 172.1 mg/dL in females and 173.6 mg/dL in males, and LDL-C -107.0 mg/dL and 106.3 mg/dL, respectively [18]. The levels of TC found in the NATPOL 2011 survey are close to the levels found in the populations of developed North American and European countries.…”

Cardiovascular Risk Factor Burden in the United Arab Emirates (UAE): The Africa Middle East (AfME) Cardiovascular Epidemiological (ACE) Study Sub-analysis

“…Even though it is estimated that up to 80% of deaths in developing countries are secondary to CVD, there is an absence of systematic epidemiological data on cardiovascular (CV) risk factors from these developing countries [3,4]. The majority of epidemiological studies from the developing world pre-date recent socioeconomic developments and are either too countryspecific or only recruited patients from specific healthcare settings (outpatients, specialist or acute care settings) [5][6][7].…”