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.

既往研究表明，北美地区的印度裔与南亚裔定居者群体中，冠心病（coronary heart disease, CHD）的患病率有所上升。南亚人群中冠心病负担加重的主要诱因为血脂异常（dyslipidemia）。据我们所知，此前尚无研究针对巴基斯坦人群的血脂异常模式与患病率展开探索。本研究旨在基于巴基斯坦城乡人群的抽样样本，分析其血浆脂质的变化趋势与异常情况。本研究共纳入238名受试者（男性108名，女性130名），采用标准化实验方案检测了所有受试者的血浆脂质谱。结果显示，本研究中有63%的受试者至少存在一项主要脂质组分异常，包括总胆固醇（total cholesterol, TC）、低密度脂蛋白胆固醇（low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, LDL-C）、高密度脂蛋白胆固醇（high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, HDL-C）或甘油三酯（triglycerides, TG）。最常见的孤立性血脂异常类型为高密度脂蛋白胆固醇降低（17.3%），其次为甘油三酯升高（11.2%）。此外，研究还观察到总胆固醇升高、低密度脂蛋白胆固醇升高、甘油三酯升高与高密度脂蛋白胆固醇降低之间存在多种合并异常情况。研究发现，性别、城市化水平与职业阶层均对脂质谱存在显著影响。具体而言，男性、城市居民及蓝领受试者的血脂异常患病率分别高于女性、农村居民及白领受试者。与血脂正常受试者相比，血脂异常受试者的多项人体测量学指标显著更高，包括体重指数（body mass index, BMI）、体脂百分比及腰围。本研究全面评估了巴基斯坦人群的血脂异常患病率与冠心病风险，该研究结果可为巴基斯坦制定更完善的医疗保健规划与资源分配方案提供参考依据。