According to the International Diabetes Federation, the global prevalence of diabetes mellitus among adults aged 20-79 years was 11.1% (588.7 million people) in 2024 and is expected to increase to 13.0% (852.5 million people) by 2050. Of these cases, 90% are type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) (1) . Furthermore, the leading global cause of mortality in 2015 was ischaemic heart disease and cerebrovascular accidents, for which hypercholesterolaemia is the main risk factor (2) . In Chile, the most recent National Health Survey (2017) reported a high prevalence of hypercholesterolemia in adults, with 27.8% of individuals exhibiting levels of total cholesterol of 200 mg/dL or more (3) . However, the prevalence of this condition in the diabetic population remains to be elucidated. Therefore, this study aimed to describe the prevalence of hypercholesterolaemia in patients with T2DM attending primary health care centres (PHCC) in Copiapó, Chile. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 118 participants from the CODIACO cohort in 2023. Adults of both sexes aged 30-65 years with a diagnosis of T2DM, users of the PHCCs in Copiapo were included. Exclusion criteria comprised individuals who were pregnant or lactating, those with diabetic neuropathy and/or nephropathy, cancer, or severe infectious or inflammatory diseases. Fasting venous samples were analysed, and total cholesterol was determined by dry chemistry. Hypercholesterolaemia was defined as a total cholesterol level of at least 200 mg/dL. Mann-Whitney U or t-tests were used to compare continuous variables between sexes, and Chi-square to assess prevalence differences. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.050. Analyses were performed using SPSS statistical software. The CODIACO study was approved by the Scientific Ethics Committee of the Universidad de Atacama. Funding was provided by FONDECYT 11180794 and DIUDA 88231/12. The median age of the study population was 59.0 (52.5 - 63.0) years. The mean total cholesterol levels were significantly higher (p = 0.007) in women (185.9 ± 51.4 mg/dL) compared to men (161.3 ± 35.5 mg/dL). In addition, the overall prevalence of hypercholesterolaemia was 28.0%, with significant differences (p = 0.014) between women (35.5%) and men (14.3%). The findings of this study revealed an elevated prevalence of hypercholesterolaemia in users of the PHCCs with T2DM in Copiapó, comparable to that of the general Chilean population. Furthermore, the investigation revealed that women exhibited higher total cholesterol levels and a higher prevalence of hypercholesterolaemia in comparison to men. Further research is required in order to both confirm these results and provide the necessary evidence to support the development of public policies that address this health issue.
Tello et al. (Fri,) studied this question.