CHOLESTEROL LEVELS AND PREVALENCE OF HYPERCHOLESTEROLEMIA IN A MEXICAN ADULT-POPULATION

In Mexico, the incidence and prevalence of coronary heart disease (CHD ) has increased over the past three decades and has become the leading cause of death in the country. Hypercholesterolemia is a major risk f actor for coronary atherosclerosis and most developed countries curren tly have public health strategies that attempt to reduce the level of cholesterol. In order to determine the mean total cholesterol values a nd the prevalence of hypercholesterolemia, an epidemiologic survey was carried out in a representative national population sample that inclu ded men and women aged 1 to 98 years. In this report, we present the f indings in all individuals older than 20 years (n = 33 558). Consideri ng the country as a whole, the mean serum total cholesterol (TC) was 4 .80 +/- 1.16 mmol/l, the prevalence of borderline hypercholesterolemia (TC between 5.17 and 6.20 mmol/l) was 22.8%;, and the prevalence of h igh risk hypercholesterolemia (TC greater than or equal to 6.20 mmol/l ) was 10.6%. This cross sectional study demonstrated the existence of significant geographic differences in serum TC, with mean state values ranging from 4.43 +/- 1.05 mmol/l in the south to 5.48 +/- 1.36 mmol/ l in the north. The prevalence of high risk hypercholesterolemia was a s high as 24.8%, in Baja California Norte and as low as 4.0% in the st ate of Guerrero. These large differences in mean TC values are probabl y diet related and reinforce the need to carry out prospective and int ervention trials related to CHD and its risk factors.