NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Roughly a third of US adults have high or borderline high triglyceride levels, yet very few are being treated for the condition, according to a report in the Archives of Internal Medicine for March 23.

There is growing evidence that hypertriglyceridemia is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, lead author Dr. Earl S. Ford, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, and colleagues note. The prevalence of this problem during the much reported obesity epidemic that is sweeping the US and other countries, however, is unclear.

To investigate, the researchers analyzed data from 5610 subjects, at least 20 years of age, who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys from 1999 to 2004. The authors used National Cholesterol Education Program guidelines to define the degree of hypertriglyceridemia: 150 to 199 mg/dL (borderline high) and 200 mg/dL or higher (high).

Overall, 33.1% had high or borderline high triglyceride levels.

The prevalence of high triglyceride levels was 17.9%. Triglyceride levels of 500 mg/dL and 1000 mg/dL or higher were seen in 1.7% and 0.4% of subjects, respectively.

Just 1.3% of subjects used gemfibrozil, fenofibrate, or niacin for hypertriglyceridemia. Among subjects with levels of at least 150 and 200 mg/dL, the usage rates were 2.6% and 3.6%, respectively.

“Among US adults, hypertriglyceridemia is common,” the authors state. “Until the benefits of treating hypertriglyceridemia that is not characterized by extreme elevations of triglyceride concentration with medications are incontrovertible, therapeutic lifestyle change remains the preferred treatment.”

Reference:
Arch Intern Med 2009;169:572-578.