HYPERCHOLESTEROLEMIA AND ITS RELATED RISK FACTORS AMONG KURDISH POPULATION IN DUHOK, KURDISTAN REGION, IRAQ

ABSTRACT Background: Cardiovascular disease is a major health problem in the world and its increas-ing prevalence is threatening the human health. Hypercholesterolemia is a cardinal risk fac-tor for cardiovascular disease especially coronary artery disease; therefore, its recognition, treatment, and control have become an important clinical and public health issue. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of hypercholesterolemia and investigate its related risk factors in Kurdish population in Duhok province, Kurdistan Region, Iraq. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out, from January 2021 to December 2022, to investigate serum cholesterol levels in a sample of Kurdish individuals attending out-patient department (OPD) of Medicine at Azadi General Teaching Hospital and Duhok’s specialized laboratory center, Duhok, Kurdistan region, Iraq. This study included 616 partic-ipants. They were 231 males and 385 females, with age range 20 - 79 years. Participants were enrolled by consecutive sampling procedure. Pregnant women were excluded from the study. Main outcome measures were serum lipids, glucose, glycated haemoglobin and thy-roid stimulating hormone. Results: The overall prevalence of hypercholesterolemia in Kurdish population in Duhok was 39.12% (95% Cl 38.5 - 40.1) with prevalence values of 38.68 % (95% CI 35.17 - 41.33) in men and 39.61% (95% CI 38.40 - 47.38) in women. The prevalence of hypercho-lesterolemia was higher in urban residents than in rural residents (45.52% vs 30.32%, p=0.001). Moreover, Hypercholesterolemia prevalence was relatively low in individuals younger than 40 years for both men and women, and began to increase at the age of more than 40 year, then decreased at the age of 50 year for men and 60 years for women. Hyper-tension, alcohol consumption, obesity, hypothyroidism and diabetes were associated with an increased risk of hypercholesterolemia. Conclusion: hypercholesterolemia prevalence is high among Kurdish population in Duhok governorate. Individuals over 40 years were identified as population at high risk for hyper-cholesterolemia