Prevalence of dyslipidaemia and factors associated with dyslipidaemia among south asian adults: The center for cardiometabolic risk reduction in south asia cohort study

Background. The pattern of dyslipidaemia in South Asia is believed to be different from that in other parts of the world. Nonetheless, limited population-based data are available from the region. We assessed the prevalence, types of, and factors associated with dyslipidaemia among South Asians. Methods. We used baseline data (2010–11) of the Center for Cardiometabolic Risk Reduction in South Asia (CARRS) cohort of 16 287 representative urban adults aged >20 years from Chennai and Delhi in India and Karachi in Pakistan. Total cholesterol (TC) was measured by the enzymatic-cholesterol oxidase peroxidase method, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) by the direct homogeneous method and triglycerides (TG) by enzymatic methods. Low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) was calculated using Friedewald’s formula. We defined high TC >200 mg/dl or on medication; hypertriglyceridaemia >150 mg/dl, high LDL-C >130 mg/dl or on medication and low HDL-C <40 mg/dl for males, <50 mg/dl for females. Multivariate logistic regression was carried out to assess the factors associated with dyslipidaemia. Results. The prevalence of any dyslipidaemia was 76.4%, 64.3% and 68.5% among males and 89.3%, 74.4% and 79.4% among females in Chennai, Delhi and Karachi, respectively. The prevalence of elevated TC was higher in Chennai compared to Delhi and Karachi (31.3%, 28.8% and 22.9%, respectively); males had a significantly greater prevalence of high TG, whereas females had a greater prevalence of low HDL-C in all the three cities. The most common lipid abnormality in all three cities was low HDL-C, which was seen in 67.1%, 49.7% and 61.3% in Chennai, Delhi and Karachi, respectively. Only 2% of the participants were on lipid-lowering drugs. Adjusted for other factors, dyslipidaemia was positively associated with age, female sex, obesity, hypertension, diabetes and tobacco use. Discussion. Overall, almost seven in ten adults in urban South Asia have some form of dyslipidaemia, and the predominant subtypes were low HDL-C and high TG.