The University of Toledo Translation Journal of Medical Sciences 
Internal Medicine Abstract, Department of Medicine Research Symposium UTJMS 2023 May 5; 11(1):e1-e1 

Racial Differences in Hypercholesterolemia 
Prevalence: A Cross-sectional Study Using 
2017-2018 National Health and Nutrition 
Examination Survey Data 
Omar Sajdeya, MD1, Mohammad Safi, MD1, Ziad Abuhelwa, MD1, Wasef Sayeh 
MD1, Ragheb Assaly, MD2 

1Division of Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, The University of Toledo, 
Toledo, OH 43614 
2Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, The 
University of Toledo, Toledo, OH 43614 

*Corresponding author: Omar.Sajdeya@utoledo.edu

Published: 05 May 2023 

Introduction: African Americans (AA) have a 20% higher risk of CVD death than Whites. Treating 
hypercholesterolemia (HCL) is paramount in CVD primary prevention. Some evidence showed that AA 
have a lower risk of HCL compared to whites. 

Methods: A cross-sectional study using the 2017-18 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 
data. Logistic regression analysis was used to compare the prevalence of diagnosed HCL in AA and 
whites aged 18-80 years old. Serum total cholesterol (TC) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels 
were compared by multiple linear regression.  

Results: Among 2549 participants, 51.7% were females, and 63.4% were white. The mean (SD) age was 
51.6 (19.1) years. AA had a 24 % reduced risk of HCL diagnosis than whites after adjusting for age, 
Body Mass Index (BMI), diabetes, hypertension, and smoking; OR [95%CI]= 0.767 [0.621, 0.923]. 
There was no difference in TC level (p=0.7242), while HDL was higher among AA (p<0.0001, β=3.83), 
adjusting for age, gender, BMI, smoking, diabetes, education level, and use of cholesterol medications. 

Conclusion: Consistent with some evidence, AA had a lower prevalence of HCL diagnosis and higher 
HDL levels. 

https://dx.doi.org/10.46570/utjms.vol11-2023-719 

https://dx.doi.org/10.46570/utjms.vol11-2023-719
mailto:Omar.Sajdeya@utoledo.edu