Plasma Lipid Profiles in Hypertensive Nigerians

Background: The association between hypertension and dyslipidaemia is well established and both may add up to increase patients’ susceptibility to the development of coronary heart disease. Methods: Lipid profiles were studied in one hundred and fifty (150) hypertensive patients aged 30-59 years and thirty (30) ageand socio-economically matched normotensive controls using standard laboratory techniques. Results: Of the 150 hypertensive patients, 54% (n = 69) were females with majority (45.7%) in the age range 50-59 years while majority (53.6%) of hypertensive males were in the age group 40-49 years. Hypertensive patients have significantly higher lipid profile except for HDL-Cholesterol, which did not show any significant difference in the two groups. Among the hypertensive patients, total cholesterol was positively correlated with triglyceride (0.399,p < 0.05), LDL-cholesterol (r = 0.609,p < 0.05) and HDLcholesterol (r = 0.866,p < 0.05) and HDL-C positively correlated with LDL-C (r = 0.218,p < 0.05). In normotensive patients however, LDL-cholesterol was negatively correlated with triglyceride (r = -0.409,p < 0.05) while total cholesterol was positively correlated with LDL-cholesterol (r = 0.876,p < 0.05). Conclusion: Hypertensive Nigerians have significantly elevated plasma total cholesterol, Triglyceride and LDL-C but comparable HDL-C with normotensives. The clinical implications of elevated HDL-C in hypercholesterolemic hypertensive Nigerians are unclear.