Plasma lipid abnormalities in Pakistani population: trends, associated factors, and clinical implications

Previous studies have reported increased prevalence of coronary heart disease (CHD) in Indians and South Asian settlers in North America. This increased burden of CHD among South Asians is mainly caused by dyslipidemia. To the best of our knowledge, none of the previous works has studied the patterns and prevalence of dyslipidemia in the Pakistani population. The present work aimed to study the plasma lipid trends and abnormalities in a population-based sample of urban and rural Pakistanis. The study included 238 participants (108 males,130 females). Plasma lipid profiles of the participants were determined using standard protocols. We observed that 63% of the study population displayed irregularities in at least one major lipid-fraction including total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), or triglycerides (TG). The most common form of isolated-dyslipidemia was low HDL-C (17.3%) followed by high TG (11.2%). Several overlaps between high TC, LDL-C, TG and low HDL-C were also noted. Gender, urbanization, and occupational class were all observed to have an impact on lipid profiles. Briefly, male, urban, and blue-collar participants displayed higher prevalence of dyslipidemia compared to female, rural, and white-collar participants, respectively. In comparison to normal subjects, dyslipidemic subjects displayed significantly higher values for different anthropometric variables including body mass index (BMI), body fat percentage, and waist circumference. The present work provides a comprehensive estimation of the prevalence of dyslipidemia and CHD risk in the Pakistani population. This information will be helpful for better healthcare planning and resource allocation in Pakistan.