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Trends in TC/HDL and LDL/HDL Ratios across the Age Span: Data from the 2007-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES)
Inga Wang, PhD, OTR1, Jay Kapellush, PhD1, Stephen Hou, PhD2, Mohammad H Rahman, PhD3, Xiaoyan Li, PhD4, David Ritchie, MD5
1Department of Rehabilitation Sciences & Technology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI, USA.
2Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI, USA.
3Department of Biomedical Engineering / Mechanical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI, USA.
4Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Texas Medical School at Houston, and TIRR Memorial Hermann Research Center, Houston, TX, USA.
5Department of Surgery, Kendall Regional Medical Center, Miami, FL, USA.
Background. Cholesterol levels in total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein (HDL-C), and triglyceride (TG) contribute to atherosclerosis and its clinical consequences.
Objectives. This study aimed to examine the trends in serum TC/HDL and LDL/HDL ratio across the age span.
Methods. This is an observational study. Blood lipid measurements, taken from 85,646 noninstitutionalized participants, aged 6 to 80, were obtained from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) study. We compared the TC/HDL and LDL/HDL ratio trends in three distinct cross-sectional surveys during 2007-2010, 2011-2014, and 2015- 2018.
Results. Cholesterol ratios changed by age and differed by sex. Mean TC/HDL ratios declined from 4.03 (95% CI, 4.01-4.05) in 2007-2010, to 3.84 (95% CI, 3.81-3.87) in 2015-2018 (p<.05) for linear trend) in male; mean TC/HDL ratios declined from 3.69 (95% CI, 3.67-3.70) in 2007- 2010, to 3.45 (95% CI, 3.42-3.47) in 2015-2018 (p<.05 for linear trend) in female. Mean
LDL/HDL ratios declined from 2.30 (95% CI, 2.28-2.32) in 2007-2010, to 2.18 (95% CI, 2.15- 2.20) in 2015-2018 (p<.05 for linear trend) in male; mean LDL/HDL ratios declined from 2.04 (95% CI, 2.02-2.06) in 2007-2010, to 1.96 (95% CI, 1.94-1.98) in 2015-2018 (p<.001 for linear trend) in female.
Conclusions. Between 2007 and 2018, favorable trends in lipid ratio levels were observed among noninstitutionalized residents in the US.