Dyslipidemia and the preventive potential in the Greenlandic population

• Published in: Atherosclerosis Plus
• Main Authors: Johan Skov Bundgaard, Marit E. Jørgensen, Kristine Andersen, Henning Bundgaard, Uka Wilhjelm Geisler, Michael Lynge Pedersen
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2023
• Subjects: Plasma lipid; Cholesterol; Arctic health; Epidemiology; Statins; Diseases of the circulatory (Cardiovascular) system; RC666-701; Arctic; greenlander*; greenlandic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.athplu.2022.12.003; https://doaj.org/article/80a133f813f84cfc9338042f17bbf9f9

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.