Abstract Body: INTRODUCTION: The prevalence of hypercholesterolemia in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is on the rise. The preparedness of countries to manage this issue has not been extensively evaluated.
HYPOTHESIS: We tested the hypothesis that higher level of indicators for countries’ preparedness and progress towards the control of communicable diseases (NCD) will be positively related to the clinical control of hypercholesterolemia (total cholesterol <200 mg/dL among those on therapy).
METHODS: Data were from 207,197 adults aged 18-69 years from 61 LMICs, representing each continent, enrolled in the World Health Organization (WHO) Stepwise Approach to Surveillance surveys (2010-2024). Country level data were obtained from the WHO Health Inequality Data Repository and other sources. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using logistic regression.
RESULTS: Overall, the prevalence of hypercholesterolemia was 32% and varied across countries, with 9.0% reporting pharmacological treatment. The prevalence of controlled hypercholesterolemia among treated individuals was 42%. In models adjusted for age, sex and education, higher share of total health spending from private sources within a country (including out-of-pocket payments by households) was associated with lower odds for hypercholesterolemia control while higher government spending on health, making positive progress in preventing and controlling NCDs and having a national policy to address cardiovascular health were all positively related to controlled hypercholesterolemia (Table).
CONCLUSIONS: In this study, indicators of increased commitment to health by countries were positively related to the adequate control of hypercholesterolemia in LMICs.