A meta-analysis of prospective studies of the mortality from cardiovascular diseases in various countries of the world showed a sex-and-age impact on the correlation between the total cholesterol (TC) level and cardiovascular mortality. The length of service in northern conditions also has a certain impact on the development of hypercholesterolemia in people working on an expeditionary-rotational basis in the Far North.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the levels of blood lipids (total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), triglycerides (TGs)), the frequency of hypercholesterolemia (HCL) detection and its association with the length of service in men of 25—54 years working on an expeditionary-rotational basis in the north of Tyumen Region.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
A cross-sectional epidemiological study of a representative cohort of a closed population of men of 25—54 years working on an expeditionary-rotational basis in the north of Tyumen Region was conducted using standard methods. The response to cardiological screening was 82.4%. Blood samples were taken from each third participant (n=222) to determine and evaluate the results by the following criteria: HCL >5.0, hyperTGs >1.7, hypoHDL <1.0; the arterial blood pressure (BP) was measured and assessed; a survey was carried out using a WHO questionnaire. Statistical analysis was performed using the Statistica 8.0 program; a p-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant.
RESULTS
Men working on an expeditionary-rotational basis had a mean TC of 5.43±1.26 mmol/L, above the reference values. The mean HDL-C and TGs were within the reference values. We noticed a high frequency of HCL among the study participants — 63.1% of men had TC above 5.0 mmol/L. About 3% of the participants had a severe HCL (above 8 mmol/L). Spearman correlation analysis showed a direct moderate relation of the HCL level with age (rS=0.50, p<0.05) and a less pronounced relation with systolic BP (rS=0.33, p<0.05) and diastolic BP (rS=0.30, p<0.05) The length of service in northern conditions of 15 or more years increased the HCL probability by 3.1 times — OR=3.14, 95% CI (1.25, 7.85).
CONCLUSION
The regularities we revealed in the distribution of total cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, and the frequency of hypercholesterolemia association with age and the length of service in northern conditions in a closed population of men of 25—54 years working on an expeditionary-rotational basis in high north are an extremely important aspect of the scientific basis that determines the vector of strategy and tactics in the formation of a program for primary prevention of cardiovascular diseases.
