Assessment of Lipid Profile Levels among Older Adults in Nnewi

Abstract

Background/ Objective of Study: Cardiovascular diseases continue to be the main cause of morbidity and mortality. Aging is an important modifier of cardiovascular health. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study evaluated the lipid profile levels of older adults in Nnewi, Nigeria.  In total, 128 subjects were enlisted for the study using simple random sampling.  They were divided into two equal groups: older people (n=64) and control groups (n=64). The older adults consist of 32 males and 32 females, between the ages of 45 and 75 years who gave written informed consent. The control group consists of 64 students, 32 males and 32 females, between the ages of 18 and 30 years. Five milliliters of fasting venous blood sample was collected from each participant, and dispensed into a plain container for analysis of the lipid profile levels. Total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), and high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) were determined using enzymatic colorimetric methods while low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) was calculated as: LDL-C = (Total Cholesterol) − (HDL-C) − (TGs/5). Results: Results showed that the older persons had mean serum levels of TC (4.65±0.66 Vs 3.90±0.60), TG (1.52±0.44 Vs 1.08±0.26), and LDL-C (2.79±0.62 Vs 2.06±0.59) that were significantly higher than those of the control group, but HDL-C (1.16±0.08 Vs 1.34±0.09) level was significantly lower (P-value= 0.000) respectively. Additionally, older male and female adults had significantly higher mean serum levels of TC, TG, and LDL-C, but significantly lower HDL-C compared to the male and female control groups (P-value= 0.000) respectively. TC and age (r=0.312; P-value= 0.012), LDL-C and age (r=0.302; P-value= 0.015), and LDL-C and TC (r=0.968; P-value= 0.015) all showed statistically significant positive relationships in the control group. Also, there was a significant positive correlation between age and TG (r=0.260; P-value= 0.038), TC and TG(r=0.375; P-value= 0.002), and TC and LDL-C (r=0.940; P-value= 0.000) in the older individuals. Conclusion: Ageing may, thus, have a deleterious impact on lipid profile.