Rural-urban difference in plasma lipid levels and prevalence of dyslipidemia in Hausa-Fulani of north-western Nigeria.

OBJECTIVES To compare the serum lipids levels, prevalence of dyslipidaemia, and adiposity of rural versus urban dwellers in Sokoto, Nigeria. METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted in both rural and urban areas of Sokoto, Nigeria. One hundred participants were recruited using a multi-stage sampling method. Demographic data and anthropometric measurements were obtained. Fasting blood was drawn for assessment of total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), high-density lipoprotein (HDL-C) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C) cholesterol. The classification of dyslipidemia was based on the National Cholesterol Education Program-Adult Treatment Panel guidelines. RESULTS The (mean [SD]) waist circumference of the urban participants (83.8 [9.5] cm) was significantly higher than the rural participants (79.2 [11.2] cm) (P = .030). The mean BMI of the urban participants (23.9 [3.9] kg/m2) was higher than the rural participants (22.2 [3.7] kg/m2) (P = .09). The mean TC was significantly higher in urban (175.9 [49.6] mg/dL) than rural participants (148.3 [24.3] mg/dL) P < .001. Mean serum LDL-C, and TG concentrations were higher in the urban than rural participants but the difference was not statistically significant. Mean serum HDL-C was also insignificantly higher in the rural (51.1 [7.9] mg/dL) than in urban participants (50.2 [11.7] mg/dL) (P = .64). The most frequent dyslipidemia was abnormally low HDL-C (13%) and this was more common in the urban participants (16%) than in rural participants (10%). CONCLUSION This study demonstrated that compared to the rural dwellers, the urban dweller were more likely to be obese and had higher frequency of adverse plasma lipid profile. This may have implications for rural-urban patterns of lipid related cardiovascular disease.