Relationship of Lifestyle Medical Advice and Non-HDL Cholesterol Control of a Nationally Representative US Sample with Hypercholesterolemia by RaceEthnicity

Abstract EN

Objective.

The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the associations of lifestyle medical advice and non-HDL cholesterol control of a nationally representative US sample of adults with hypercholesterolemia by race/ethnicity.

Methods.

Data were collected by appending sociodemographic, anthropometric, and laboratory data from two cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Survey (2007-2008 and 2009-2010).

This study acquired data from male and female adults aged ≥ 20 years (N = 11,577), classified as either Mexican American (MA), (n=2173), other Hispanic (OH) (n=1298), Black non-Hispanic (BNH) (n=2349), or White non-Hispanic (WNH) (n=5737).

Results.

Minorities were more likely to report having received dietary, weight management, and exercise recommendations by healthcare professionals than WNH, adjusting for confounders.

Approximately 80% of those receiving medical advice followed the recommendation, regardless of race/ethnicity.

Of those who received medical advice, reporting “currently controlling or losing weight” was associated with lower non-HDL cholesterol.

BNH who reported “currently controlling or losing weight” had higher non-HDL cholesterol than WNH who reported following the advice.

Conclusion.

The results suggest that current methods of communicating lifestyle advice may not be adequate across race/ethnicity and that a change in perspective and delivery of medical recommendations for persons with hypercholesterolemia is needed.