[Epidemiology of lipid profile of the Spanish elderly population: the EPICARDIAN study].
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to describe the lipid profile, the levels of serum total cholesterol (TC), LDL cholesterol (C-LDL), HDL cholesterol (C-HDL) and triglyceride (TG), to compare these levels between geographical areas and to estimate the prevalence of dyslipidemia in elderly residents (65 years and older) from urban and rural areas of Spain.


METHODS
Epidemiological, observational, multicentre study of Spanish elderly people residents (>or= 65 years old) of 3 communities in 3 Spanish regions: Arévalo (Avila) and Begonte (Lugo) as rural areas and Lista (Central Madrid) as urban area. Stratified randomized sample by age and sex from population census of each area. The participation rate was: 84.6%. At-home interviews (phase 1) (n = 4522): with determination of capillary blood cholesterol levels (Reflotron) and clinical visit (phase 2) (1/3 selected randomly, n = 1907): determination of serum TC levels (enzymatic colorimetric method CHOP-PAD), C-HDL, C-LDL (Friedewald equation) and TG (Trinder Method).


RESULTS
Mean concentrations of TC was 230.3 (46.8) mg/dl. These levels decreased significantly with increasing age (p < 0.001), higher in women (p = 0.001); lower in Lugo (226.4 [49.7] mg/dl) than in Madrid (233.2 [42.3] mg/dl) and Arévalo (236.5 [43] mg/dl) (p = 0.002). Global prevalence of hypercholesterolemia by SEA simplified criteria was: 68.9% (95% confidence interval, 66.8-71). Mean concentrations of C-LDL was: 159.4 (37.9) mg/dl; C-HDL: 48.2 (15) mg/dl, and TG: 119.7 (63.85) mg/dl. 31% of cases were awarded about the hypercholesterolemia. Only 30% of them were under treatment with lipid lowering drugs; and 30% of the subjects showed CT concentrations < 200 mg/dl, with no differences by sex, age, study area or education level. Female sex, urban habitat and hypertension were the only variables independently associated to hypercholesterolemia in the logistic model.


CONCLUSIONS
The prevalence of dyslipidemia is slightly higher to SEA estimation for the European elderly population (50%), greater in women and in younger groups. The awareness, treatment and control of hypercholesterolemia are low among the Spanish elderly population.
Gabriel
Rafael
R
Unidad de Epidemiología Clínica, Hospital Universitario de La Princesa, Madrid, Spain. rgabriel@hlpr.insalud.es
Saiz
Carmen
C
Susi
Rosario
R
Alonso
Margarita
M
Vega
Saturio
S
López
Isidro
I
Cruz Cardenal
María Mercedes
MM
Gómez-Gerique
Juan Antonio
JA
Porres
Amelia
A
Muñiz
Javier
J
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006949:Hyperlipidemias / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood*
D014280:Triglycerides; D002784:Cholesterol