Hypercholesterolaemia among urban residents in Lagos State: The knowledge, attitudes, prevalence and risk factors.

BACKGROUND

Hypercholesterolaemia, a modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD), is particularly increasing in urban areas of underdeveloped nations. This research assessed the knowledge of, attitude towards, prevalence of and risk factors for hypercholesterolaemia in an urban local government area of Lagos State.

METHODS

This descriptive cross-sectional research was conducted among 229 adult residents who were selected through a multistage sampling method. Data were collected with a structured interviewer-administered questionnaire. Anthropometric measures were assessed using standard tools while the lipid profile was assessed by finger pricks using a CardioChek professional analyser. Participants with knowledge scores of at least 50% were considered as having good knowledge and scores below 50% were considered as poor knowledge. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 20.0. P < 0.05 was taken as statistically significant.

RESULTS

The mean age of the respondents was 38.9 ± 4.6 years. More than a third 89 (38.9%) of the respondents had high blood total cholesterol, 39 (17.0%) had high low-density lipoprotein and 8 (3.4%) had high triglycerides. Overall, 110 (48.0%) of the participants had good knowledge of hypercholesterolaemia and 131 (57.2%) of them had positive attitudes towards hypercholesterolaemia as a risk factor of CVD. Being a female (odds ratio [OR] = 2.16; 95 confidence interval [CI] = 1.19-3.91) and consumption of baked food (OR = 1.94; 95% CI = 1.054-3.57) were significant predictors of high cholesterol among respondents.

CONCLUSION

Cholesterol levels were high in this sample of urban Nigerians. Overall, 110 (48.0%) of the respondents had a good level of knowledge while 131 (57.2%) had positive attitudes. Being a female and consuming baked food were significant predictors of high cholesterol among the respondents. This calls for gender-specific interventions for women and health education on dietary modification.