Awareness of Lipid Disorders and Their Role in Cardiovascular Disease Prevention: A Cross-Sectional Study among Adults Attending a Tertiary Care Hospital in India
Background: Dyslipidemia is one of the most important modifiable risk factors for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CVD), yet public awareness regarding lipid disorders remains poor in India, contributing to delayed diagnosis and inadequate risk-factor control.Objectives: To assess the level of awareness regarding lipid disorders and their role in cardiovascular disease among adults attending the medicine outpatient department of a tertiary care hospital, and to correlate awareness with the actual lipid profile of the study population.Materials and Methods: A hospital-based, cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study was conducted over a period of Six months among 400 adults aged 20-65 years selected by systematic random sampling. A pre-validated, structured questionnaire was used to assess awareness regarding normal lipid levels, risk factors, symptoms and preventive measures for dyslipidemia. Fasting lipid profile was estimated for all participants and dyslipidemia was classified as per National Cholesterol Education Program-Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP-ATP III) criteria. Data were analysed using SPSS version 20.0, and Chi-square test was applied to test association, with p<0.05 considered statistically significant.Results: Overall, only 34.5% of participants had adequate awareness regarding lipid disorders, while 65.5% had poor to moderate awareness. Awareness was significantly higher among participants with higher educational status, urban residence, and a family history of cardiovascular disease (p<0.05). Dyslipidemia, in one or more lipid parameters, was detected in 61.2% of participants, with low HDL-cholesterol (46.5%) being the commonest abnormality, followed by hypertriglyceridemia (34.0%) and raised LDL-cholesterol (28.7%). Participants with poor awareness had a significantly higher prevalence of dyslipidemia compared with those with adequate awareness (68.3% vs. 48.9%, p=0.001).Conclusion: Awareness regarding lipid disorders among the study population was found to be inadequate and was significantly associated with the actual burden of dyslipidemia. Community-based health education programmes focusing on lipid screening, dietary modification and lifestyle changes are urgently required for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease in India