40% Indian men suffer from abnormal lipid profiles: Survey

The abnormal levels of lipid profiles were predominantly found in the age groups of 31-45 years (40.57%) and 46-60 years (33.89%)

About 40 per cent of Indian men are suffering from abnormal lipid profiles - excessive levels of fatty substances in the bloodstream which can lead to heart problems - said an SRL Diagnostics survey conducted on around 1.4 million men over a period of three years (2012-2014).

The abnormal levels of lipid profiles were predominantly found in the age groups of 31-45 years (40.57 per cent) and 46-60 years (33.89 per cent). It showed that occurrence of this abnormality was the highest and lowest among men in eastern zone and southern zone of the country, at 42.2 per cent and 34.8 per cent, respectively.

Around 40.3 per cent and 39.1 per cent of men in northern and western zone were found to be suffering from this abnormality, respectively. Out of 13, 93, 648 males screened during the last three years, 39.36 per cent of Indian men had abnormal lipid levels in their blood.

“An abnormal lipid profile typically means that the individual has deranged values of the different components of lipids in the body – which implies an abnormality, but not necessarily a disease (lipid disorder),” clarified Dr Leena Chatterjee, Director - Fortis SRL Labs & SRL Strategic Initiatives.

The lipid abnormalities can be caused either due to genetic disorders or due to unhealthy lifestyle such as smoking, eating a high-fat diet or being overweight. A lipid profile examination does not reveal the cause of the deranged lipid values.

Cholesterol and triglycerides are two important fats or lipids present in the blood which are generally measured for lipid profile. As these lipids can’t flow freely in the blood themselves, they combine with proteins to form lipoproteins.

“High triglycerides bring change in low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol particle size, density, distribution, and composition producing smaller, denser, and more atherogenic particles (which helps them easily deposit on the inner walls of arteries),” said Chatterjee.  On the other hand, high amount of LDL cholesterol in itself is considered atherogenic.

Indians are getting affected from coronary artery disease (atherosclerotic heart disease) five to ten years earlier than other communities - who are susceptible to this disease generally at ages above 40 years, according to Chatterjee. “Hence a logical step may be to start checking lipid levels of Indian males in the age group of 31-45 years,” she added.