hypercholesterolemia among apparently healthy university students

Background: Hypercholesterolemia (HC) is a major risk factor in the development of coronary heart disease (CHD). Serum cholesterol is directly related to complications and mortalities associated with heart diseases. There are a few studies that describe HC among youths in the Arab Gulf countries. We sought to evaluate HC among young healthy university students to assess their risk of developing CHD.Methods: Lipid profile of 166 students between the ages of 16-30 years (Mean: 20.49±2.96) were examined and blood glucose, total protein, albumin, thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and the inflammation marker high sensitivity CRP (hsCRP) were determined. Each volunteer filled a questionnaire about her/his lifestyle and personal and family medical histories and height and weight were measured to determine body mass index (BMI). The data were analyzed using SPSS version 17. Chi-Square was used to determine the relation between categorical variables. A p-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results: According to the American Heart Association criteria, 44 (26.5%) students were identified with primary hypercholesterolemia (PHC) in the first testing round. After proper health counseling, the same tests were repeated after 2-3 weeks in all 44 hypercholesterolemic students. We found only 26 (15.6%) of them to be hypercholesterolemic. There was a significant relation between high total cholesterol (TC) and high TC/HDLC, as well as high or very high hsCRP and high TC/HDLC (both, p<0.001). Males tend to have higher TC/HDLC and hsCRP than females (both p0.002 and 0.005, respectively). Family history of CHD was found in 8 students and obesity was recorded in 5 volunteers.Conclusion: The results necessitate further studies in determining the cause of PHC. We predict a genetic element contributing to the high percentage of PHC in the current study.