Hypercholesterolaemia in a group of senior South African Transport Services employees

The lipid profiles of 104 volunteer senior South African Transport Service (SATS) personnel showed that all volunteers had some lipid abnormality, which increased their risk for coronary heart disease. All participants received a single counselling interview with a nursing sister on a lipid-lowering lifestyle. Retesting after 3-4 months of 91 participants revealed that this group had lowered their mean total serum cholesterol value significantly. Twenty-one per cent of the participants had normalised their lipid profiles and the prevalence of hypercholesterolaemia, defined in a number of ways, was reduced, as was the number of possible familial hypercholesterolaemic patients, by 60%. Participants who complied with the dietary recommendations strictly reduced their cholesterol levels significantly, while those who did not were less successful in lowering their serum cholesterol levels. Screening and a single intervention counselling interview improved the coronary risk factor profile of this group of senior SATS personnel.