Prevalence and correlates of dyslipidemia, awareness, and management among adults in Bangladesh in 2018

Introduction The aim of the study was to evaluate the prevalence and correlates of dyslipidemia among people (aged 18–69 years) in Bangladesh. Methods National data were analyzed from 7027 individuals aged 18–69 years, with mean age of 39.5 years, that took part in the Bangladesh cross-sectional STEPS survey in 2018, and had complete lipid measurements. Dyslipidemia was defined using the guidelines of the Adult Treatment Panel III. Multivariable analysis was conducted using Poisson regression to assess the extent of association between variables. Results The prevalence of dyslipidemia was 80.4%, 21.7% high total cholesterol (TC), 35.5% high triglycerides (TG), 20.2% high low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and 68.9% low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). Among those with dyslipidemia, 2.6% were aware. Among those who knew, the proportion of lipid-lowering drug treatment was 36.7%, and among those taking lipid-lowering drugs in the past 2 weeks, 79 (100%) had their dyslipidemia controlled. In multivariable analysis, male sex (adjusted prevalence ratio, APR=1.46; 95% CI: 141–1.52), obesity (APR=1.17; 95% CI: 1.12–1.22), hypertension (APR=1.04; 95% CI: 1.01–1.08), diabetes (APR=1.09; 95% CI: 1.05–1.13), physical inactivity (APR=1.08; 95% CI: 1.04–1.13), and current tobacco use (APR=1.10; 95% CI: 1.06–1.14), were positively associated with dyslipidemia prevalence. Conclusions Four in five adults in Bangladesh had dyslipidemia. Several factors associated with dyslipidemia that can be used to target public health interventions are identified.