Abstract
Dyslipidemia is a primary driver for chronic cardiovascular conditions and there is no comprehensive literature about its management in South Africa. The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control of dyslipidemia in rural South Africa and how they are impacted by different behaviors and non-modifiable factors. To fulfill this objective we recruited for this cohort study adults aged ≥40 years residing in the Agincourt sub-district of Mpumalanga Province. Data collection included socioeconomic and clinical data, anthropometric measures, blood pressure (BP), HIV-status, point-of-care glucose and lipid levels. Framingham CVD Risk Score was ascribed to patients based upon categories for 10 year cardiovascular risk of low (<3%), moderate (≥3% and <15%), high (≥15% and <30%), and very high (≥30%).LDL cholesterol control by risk category was defined according to South African Guidelines. Multivariable logistic regression models were built to identify factors that were significantly associated with dyslipidemia and awareness of dyslipidemia From 5,059 respondents a total of 4247 subjects (83.9%) had their cholesterol levels measured and were included in our analysis. Overall, 67.3% (2860) of these met criteria for dyslipidemia, only 30 (1.05%) were aware of their condition, and only 21 subjects (0.73%) were on treatment. The majority have abnormalities in triglycerides (59.3%). As cardiovascular risk increased the rates of lipid control according to LDL level dropped. Multivariate logistic regression analyses showed that being overweight was predictive of dyslipidemia (OR 1.76; 95%CI 1.51–2.05, p<0.001) and dyslipidemia awareness (OR 2.58; 95%CI 1.19–5.58; p = 0.017). In conclusion, the very low awareness and treatment of dyslipidemia in this cohort indicate a greater need for systematic screening and education within the population and demonstrate that there are multiple opportunities to allay this burden.
Highlights
As the epidemiologic transition continues to unfold, chronic cardiovascular conditions grow in their impact upon morbidity, health-related costs, and mortality in low resource countries [1, 2]
The HAALSI cohort is based in the Agincourt Health and Demographics Surveillance System (HDSS) site, a sub-district of rural Mpumalanga Province comprising approximately 116,000 people living in 21,000 households and 31 villages in an area of ~450km2
Regarding the effect of HIV positivity and treatment there was no statistical difference in dyslipidemia rates for subjects that were HIV positive, and HIV treatment was associated with lower rates of dyslipidemia
Summary
As the epidemiologic transition continues to unfold, chronic cardiovascular conditions grow in their impact upon morbidity, health-related costs, and mortality in low resource countries [1, 2]. Higher total cholesterol is less common in the Black African population, though dyslipidemia overall is grossly similar to global averages[6]. Community level assessments have found prevalence rates of dyslipidemia between 14% and 69%[7,8,9].In South Africa, the treatment effects of HIV/AIDS complicate the picture of dyslipidemia[10]. This is true given the well-known effect of protease inhibitors, a common component of antiretroviral therapy, which can elevate serum lipids by over 25% and accelerate progression towards cardiovascular events, but is notable for first-line non-nucleoside and nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors[11]
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