Lipoprotein profile and prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors in urban Moroccan women.

OBJECTIVE

The study aimed to characterize the lipid and apolipoprotein profile and the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors in a population of urban adult women of Morocco.

DESIGN

A total of 213 women 25-55 y old were sampled from an agricultural province of Morocco: El Jadida. The following parameters of lipid and apolipoprotein profile were measured: plasma triglycerides (TG), plasma cholesterol (TC), triglyceride-rich lipoprotein triglycerides (TRL-TG), TRL-cholesterol (TRL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and apolipoproteins A1, B, B48, CIII and E. Waist circumference (WC), body mass index (BMI) and blood pressure (BP) were also determined.

RESULTS

The women studied showed the following pattern: elevated TC, LDL-C levels and TC/HDL-C in 10, 19.4 and in 43.8%, respectively; low HDL-C levels in 45.3% (<0.9 mmol/l) or in 95% (when the cutoff <1.3 mmol/l is used), elevated TG levels in 11.8%. Elevated TRL-C (>0.6 mmol/l) and TRL-TG (>0.8 mmol/l) were observed in 13.4%. Obesity and hypertension were highly prevalent in 23.9 and 16.5%, respectively. Plasma triglyceride concentrations were closely correlated with plasma concentrations of TRL-TG (R = 0.86, P = 0.0001), apoB (R = 0.50, P = 0.0001) and apoCIII (R = 0.52, P = 0.0001) and moderately correlated with HDL-C levels (R = -0.3, P = 0.0001) and BMI (R = 0.4, P = 0.0001). The association between BMI and systolic blood pressure was statistically significant (R = 0.3, P = 0.0001). Obesity, BP, TRL-C, TRL-TG, TG, apoB and apoCIII increased with age.

CONCLUSION

There is a high prevalence of some risk factors for cardiovascular disease including altered lipid and lipoprotein profiles in the Moroccan urban women studied, some of these risk factors are associated with age.