Coronary heart disease risk factors among blood donors in northwest Ethiopia
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Published on: June 24, 2025
A Gebre-Yohannes1, S I Rahlenbeck
1Department of Medical Biochemistry, Gondar College of Medical Sciences, Ethiopia.
Insights
Coronary heart disease risk factors like high cholesterol are low in Ethiopian men. This study establishes reference blood levels for total cholesterol, LDL-C, HDL-C, and triglyceride in healthy donors.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Public Health
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Cardiovascular diseases are a growing global concern.
- Establishing baseline lipid profiles and risk factors is crucial for public health initiatives.
- Ethiopia lacks comprehensive data on blood lipid levels and associated risk factors in its adult population.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine reference blood levels for total cholesterol (TC), LDL-C, HDL-C, and triglyceride (TG) in healthy adult men.
- To ascertain the prevalence of hypercholesterolaemia and other coronary heart disease (CHD) risk factors.
- To investigate the influence of age, BMI, residency, and income on blood lipid levels.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 501 healthy adult male blood donors.
- Blood samples were analyzed for TC, LDL-C, HDL-C, and TG levels.
- Prevalence of hypercholesterolaemia, overweight, smoking, and elevated blood pressure was assessed.
Main Results:
- Mean lipid levels showed no significant difference between urban and rural donors, though urban residency was linked to higher total cholesterol.
- The prevalence of hypercholesterolaemia (TC > 200 mg/dL) was 10.4% in urban and 8.1% in rural donors.
- Prevalence rates for smoking, high blood pressure, and overweight were generally low, with variations between urban and rural populations.
Conclusions:
- Hypercholesterolaemia and other CHD risk factors are relatively low in both urban and rural healthy adult men in northwest Ethiopia.
- The findings provide valuable reference ranges for lipid profiles in this population.
- Further research is warranted to explore the long-term trends and specific determinants of cardiovascular health in Ethiopia.
Objective:
To establish reference blood levels of total blood cholesterol (TC), lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C & HDL-C) and triglyceride (TG) and determine the prevalence of hypercholesterolaemia and other coronary heart disease risk factors.
Design:
Cross sectional study.
Setting:
The blood bank at the Gondar College of Medical Sciences Hospital--a teaching and referral hospital in northwest Ethiopia.
Subjects:
Adult, healthy men who who voluntarily donated blood between March 1996 and July 1997.
Main Outcome Measures:
Mean, median and ranges of TC, LDL-C, HDL-C and TG; prevalence rates of hypercholesterolaemia, overweight, smoking and elevated blood pressures. Effect of age, BMI, residence, monthly income on blood lipid levels.
Results:
A total of 501 donors were investigated and of these 316 (63%) were urban residents. The mean (SD) TC, LDL-C, HDL-C and TG levels in urban donors were 162.5 (35.1), 93.8 (33.9), 47.1 (8.1) and 108.1 (52.5); and in donors from rural area were 158.5 (30), 91.0 (30), 47.4 (7.4), and 98.6 (55.3), respectively; without significant difference between them. However, urban residency was significantly associated (B = 7.2, 95% CI = 1.5-12.9) with the total cholesterol level. The prevalence of hypercholesterolaemia (TC > 200 mg) was 10.4% in urban donors and 8.1% in rural donors (chi 2 = 0.75, p = 0.39). The prevalence rates of smoking, high blood pressure and overweight in donors from urban and rural areas were, 14% versus 6%, 14% versus 14% and 1.6% versus 1.1%, respectively.
Conclusion:
The prevalence of hypercholesterolaemia and other coronary heart disease risk factors are low in both urban and rural donors in northwest Ethiopia.
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