Chennai: Nine in 10 Indian adults live with at least one abnormal blood lipid — fats, including cholesterol and triglycerides, in their bloodstream and body tissues, according to national data from the ICMR‑INDIAB study. Dyslipidemia, or an unhealthy imbalance or abnormal amount of lipids (fats) in your blood, is one of the most common yet least discussed cardiovascular threats in the country, the study found. Women, city dwellers and people in Central India carry a disproportionate burden, and the problem spikes sharply in those with adverse glycemic status (prediabetes or diabetes), obesity and hypertension, scientists said.Abnormal lipids, or dyslipidemia, by themselves don’t cause symptoms or immediate harm. But doctors say they act as an early warning signal, steadily raising the future risk of heart attack and stroke if left unchecked. Senior diabetologist Dr V Mohan, chairperson of Madras Diabetes Research Foundation and senior author of the study, said, “You don’t feel high cholesterol or triglycerides the way you feel chest pain. The silent numbers on a test report will eventually lead to fatty plaques in the arteries, which can rupture or block blood flow to the heart or brain. Proper lifestyle changes and medicines, if required, will help prevent this.”Analysis of data drawn from 23,665 participants in the ICMR‑INDIAB national study, published recently in the Journal of Clinical Lipidology, found that low levels of ‘good’ cholesterol, HDL — the protective cholesterol that helps clear fat from the bloodstream — were the single most common abnormality, affecting 66.8% of adults in the sample. High levels of ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol and raised triglycerides — together affecting roughly 49.4% and 29.5% of adults, respectively — are also common, painting a picture of a population where multiple lipid problems often coexist. “The prevalence climbs steadily with worsening body mass index,” said scientist Dr Mohan Deepa, the first author of the study.The condition explains how a silent biochemical abnormality now intertwines with India’s epidemics of diabetes, obesity and hypertension, experts said. “Abnormal lipids are no longer confined to a small high‑risk group but have become the norm for most Indian adults, often starting in their 30s,” said diabetologist Dr R M Anjana, also an author of the study.Regionally, Central India had the highest prevalence of dyslipidemia at around 89.1%, while the North‑East had the lowest at about 85.3%, but even the “lowest” region had more than eight in 10 adults with at least one lipid abnormality, the study found.
