Epidemiology of Dyslipidemias in Asia Pacific Countries: Differences between General Population and the Elderly

• Published in: International Journal of Gerontology Vol. 13; no. 1; pp. 100 - 102
• Main Authors: Chao-Feng Lin, Shih-Chieh Chien, Hung-I Yeh
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 社團法人台灣老人急重症醫學會 01.03.2019
• Subjects: epidemiology; dyslipidemia; Asia Pacific region; elderly
• ISSN: 1873-9598
• DOI: 10.6890/IJGE.201903_13(1).0021

A comprehensive investigation to report and compare the epidemiology of dyslipidemia in the elderly across Asia Pacific countries is still lacking. Here we compared the differences in the prevalence of dyslipidemia in the elderly among Australia, China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Taiwan based on publicly available data from websites. Generally, the prevalence of high total cholesterol (TC) and high low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), compared to general population, is higher in the elderly in all countries, except Japan. Gender-differences in the prevalence of high TC and high LDL-C existed in the elderly, being females higher than males in China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. However, low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) in the elderly is more prevalent in males than in females in China, Japan, and Taiwan. There is also a big variation among the Chinese people across different countries. The prevalence of high TC (≥ 240 mg/dL) in the elderly is much higher in Malaysia than that of China, Singapore, and Taiwan. Additionally, the prevalence of high LDL-C (≥ 160 mg/dL) in the elderly is much higher in China than that of Singapore and Taiwan. Because dyslipidemia and ageing are major risk factors of cardiovascular disease and become more prevalent than before in Asia Pacific countries, each country has to establish a practical strategy to prevent and treat age-related dyslipidemia.