Dyslipidemia and the preventive potential in the Greenlandic population

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  • Johan Skov Bundgaard
  • Marit E. Jørgensen
  • Kristine Andersen
  • Bundgård, Henning
  • Uka Wilhjelm Geisler
  • Michael Lynge Pedersen

Background: Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) is a well-established risk factor for development of cardiovascular diseases. Based on available clinical data, we aimed to investigate the plasma lipid profile in the Greenlandic population, the proportion on cholesterol-lowering treatment and the adherence to local indications for cholesterol-lowering therapy. Methods: This is an observational cross-sectional study of the adult (≥21 years) Greenlandic population with focus on clinically determined lipid levels from 2017 to early 2022. We investigated levels of dyslipidemia and assessed cholesterol-lowering medication usage in individuals with an indication according to current Greenlandic guidelines, which include a) LDL-C >5 mmol/l, b) diabetes, c) diagnosed atherosclerotic disease and 4) a SCORE2 >7.5%. Results: In the adult Greenlandic population of 40,565 individuals a lipid profile was available in 13,895 with a mean LDL-C of 3.0 mmol/L and 976 (7%) had a LDL-C >5 mmol/l. One or more indications for cholesterol-lowering medication was present in 3988 individuals and a total of 5464 adult Greenlanders either fulfilled local criteria for statin therapy or received a statin (some without current indication) and among these, 2232 (41%) individuals received no statin. Conclusion: These findings indicate that clinically significant dyslipidemia is common in the adult Greenlandic population and that the cardiovascular preventive potential of cholesterol-lowering therapy is currently underutilized.

Original languageEnglish
JournalAtherosclerosis Plus
Volume51
Pages (from-to)22-27
Number of pages6
ISSN2667-0909
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2023

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This study received a grant from the Novo Nordisk Foundation : NNF20SA0064190 .

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Authors

    Research areas

  • Arctic health, Cholesterol, Epidemiology, Plasma lipid, Statins

ID: 371472913