title: [Characterization of lipid profile in primary health care users in Portugal].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To characterize the distribution of total cholesterol (TC), LDL cholesterol (LDL-C), HDL cholesterol (HDL-C) and triglycerides in primary health care users.
  
  
  METHODS
  We performed a cross-sectional study in a primary care setting, involving 719 general practitioners based on stratified distribution proportional to the population density of each region of Portugal. The first two adult patients scheduled for an appointment on a given day were invited to participate. A questionnaire was applied to assess sociodemographic, clinical and laboratory data including lipid profile.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The study included 16 856 individuals (mean age 58.1±15.1 years; 61.6% women). Data on TC, LDL-C, HDL-C and triglycerides were available for 95.9% (n=16 159), 59.1% (n=9956), 95.4% (n=16 074) and 97.9% (n=16 494) of the population, respectively. Hypercholesterolemia (TC ≥200 mg/dl) was detected in 47%, and 38.4% had high levels of LDL-C (≥130 mg/dl). Hypertriglyceridemia (≥200 mg/dl) and low HDL-C (<40 mg/dl) were less prevalent, affecting roughly 13% of the population. Dyslipidemia was more common in middle-aged men and in post-menopausal women. Of the population aged over 40, 54.1% met eligibility criteria for lipid-lowering therapy and 44.7% were medicated with statins, but only 16.0% of these had TC ≤175 mg/dl.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Dyslipidemia is highly prevalent in primary health care users in Portugal. It is particularly common in middle-aged men and post-menopausal women, who should be considered target groups for preventive public health measures.
authors.affiliation: Serviço de Cardiologia, Hospital de Santa Maria, Centro Hospitalar de Lisboa Norte, Lisboa, Portugal; Programa de Formação Médica Avançada da Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Fundação Champalimaud, Ministério da Saúde e Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, Lisboa, Portugal; Centro de Cardiologia da Universidade de Lisboa, Clínica Universitária de Cardiologia da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal. Electronic address: cortezdias@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Nuno
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Cortez-Dias
authors.affiliation: Serviço de Cardiologia, Hospital de Santa Maria, Centro Hospitalar de Lisboa Norte, Lisboa, Portugal; Centro de Cardiologia da Universidade de Lisboa, Clínica Universitária de Cardiologia da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal.
authors.forename: Susana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Robalo Martins
authors.affiliation: Centro Nacional de Colecção de Dados em Cardiologia, Sociedade Portuguesa de Cardiologia, Lisboa, Portugal.
authors.forename: Adriana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Belo
authors.affiliation: Serviço de Cardiologia, Hospital de Santa Maria, Centro Hospitalar de Lisboa Norte, Lisboa, Portugal; Centro de Cardiologia da Universidade de Lisboa, Clínica Universitária de Cardiologia da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal.
authors.forename: Manuela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fiúza
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D050171:Dyslipidemias / Q000097:blood* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011174:Portugal / Q000453:epidemiology; D011320:Primary Health Care; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D014280:Triglycerides; D002784:Cholesterol
keywords: C-HDL; C-LDL; CT; DCV; Dislipidemia; Dyslipidemia; Hipercolesterolemia; Hipertrigliceridemia; Hypercholesterolemia; Hypertriglyceridemia; PNA; Prevalence; Prevalência; TG; colesterol total; colesterol-HDL; colesterol-LDL; doenças cardiovasculares; prevalência não ajustada; triglicéridos