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Identifying Familial Hypercholesterolemia Using a Blood Donor Screening Program With More Than 1 Million Volunteer
Candace L Jackson1,2, James Z Keeton1, Stephen J Eason3
1University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas.
Insights
Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) affects 1 in 339 blood donors, similar to the general population. Blood donor screening offers a novel strategy for early FH detection and cascade screening, especially in younger individuals.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Medicine
- Genetics
- Public Health
Background:
- Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is an autosomal-dominant disorder leading to premature coronary artery disease.
- FH is often undiagnosed, despite its significant health implications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To estimate the prevalence of familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) within a large blood donor population.
- To explore the potential of blood donor screening as a method for identifying individuals with FH.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of deidentified data from over 1 million blood donors (2002-2016).
- Utilized the Make Early Diagnosis to Prevent Early Death (MEDPED) criteria for FH diagnosis based on total nonfasting serum cholesterol levels.
- Established age-specific cholesterol thresholds for FH identification.
Main Results:
- Identified 3,473 individuals (1 in 339) meeting FH criteria.
- Prevalence was higher in younger donors (<30 years: 1:257) and men (1:327).
- Median total cholesterol in identified FH individuals was 332 mg/dL.
Conclusions:
- The prevalence of FH in blood donors mirrors that of the general population.
- Blood donor screening presents a viable, novel strategy for detecting FH, particularly in younger populations.
- This approach can facilitate early intervention and guide cascade screening efforts for FH.
Importance:
Familial hypercholesterolemia is an autosomal-dominant disorder that often causes premature coronary artery disease. Unfortunately, familial hypercholesterolemia remains largely undiagnosed.
Objective:
To estimate the prevalence of familial hypercholesterolemia in a population of blood donors.
Design:
This analysis of deidentified data from blood donors 16 years and older who donated to Carter BloodCare, one of the largest independent blood programs in the United States, between January 2002 and December 2016. Carter BloodCare, which serves a population of about 8 million in Texas, routinely measures total nonfasting serum cholesterol levels as part of a donor health screening program. Data analysis occurred from October 2017 to March 2019.
Exposure:
Blood donation.
Main Outcomes And Measures:
Familial hypercholesterolemia was defined using the Make Early Diagnosis to Prevent Early Death general population criteria, with total nonfasting serum cholesterol thresholds of 270, 290, 340, and 360 mg/dL for donors younger than 20 years, 20 to 29 years, 30 to 39 years, and 40 years or older, respectively (to convert cholesterol values to mmol/L, multiply by 0.0259). For repeated donors, the maximum observed total cholesterol level was used for analyses.
Results:
The study included 1 178 102 individual donors with a total of 3 038 420 blood donations. Of all individual donors (median total cholesterol level, 183 [interquartile range (IQR), 157-212] mg/dL; median age, 32 [IQR, 19-47] years; 619 583 [52.6%] women), a total of 3473 individuals (or 1 in every 339) met criteria for familial hypercholesterolemia. This group had a median (IQR) total cholesterol of 332 (297-377) mg/dL. Estimated prevalence was higher at younger ages (<30 years: 1:257) compared with older ages (≥30 years: 1:469; P < .001) and in men (1:327) compared with women (1:351; P = .03). Among 2219 repeated donors who met familial hypercholesterolemia criteria at least once, 3116 of 10 833 total donations (28.8%) met FH criteria.
Conclusions And Relevance:
The prevalence of familial hypercholesterolemia using the Make Early Diagnosis to Prevent Early Death criteria in a large cohort of blood donors was similar to the estimated prevalence of this disorder in the general population. The blood donor screening program could be a novel strategy to detect and notify individuals with potential familial hypercholesterolemia, particularly younger individuals in whom early detection and treatment is especially helpful, as well as guide cascade screening.
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