Evaluation of lipid profile pattern among apparently healthy students of Niger Delta University

Abstract

Background: Dyslipidemia constitutes a high risk of cardiovascular disease. Aim: This study was designed to evaluate the lipid profile pattern of apparently healthy students of Niger Delta University to detect any possible abnormality. Setting and Design: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study. Materials and Methods: A total of 102 apparently healthy students were studied. A convenient sampling technique was employed for willing participants. The studied group constituted 55 males and 47 females aged within 20–40 years. Relevant demographic data were obtained by a one-on-one interview with the participants. A blood specimen was collected for measurements of total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c) by standard assay methods. The data obtained were analyzed using SPSS 22.0, and the student t -test was performed at P < 0.05 for comparison of means. Results: The mean plasma TC and LDL-c values for males were significantly lower than females values of 3.865 ± 0.675 mmol/L versus 4.251 ± 0.851 mmol/L and 2.38 ± 0.49 versus 2.64 ± 0.64 with P = 0.012 and 0.023, respectively. Similarly, the mean plasma HDL-c and TGs for males were lower than female values of 1.126 ± 0.190 mmol/L versus 1.194 ± 0.224 mmol/L and 0.77 ± 0.20 versus 0.82 ± 0.27 with P = 0.099 and 0.27, respectively which were not statistically significant. The age group of 24–27 years constituted the highest mean values and the age group of 28–40 years constituted the least mean values for all the studied parameters. These values, however, did not differ statistically. Most of the participants had significantly within low-normal reference range values. Conclusion: These findings revealed within normal lipid profiles for most subjects.