How controlled were dyslipidemias in a year of pandemic?

ABSTRACT

Background and Aims: To describe and compare characteristics and metabolic control of a population with dyslipidemia prior to and during the COVID19 pandemic. Methods: We included all the patients with dyslipidemia followed at an Endocrinology Department. We analysed age, gender, number of appointments, lipid profile (triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol and non-HDL cholesterol), fasting blood glucose, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and uric acid. We compared the results between the years 2019 and 2020 in the period of March to December. Data were obtained from clinical records. Descriptive statistics were applied and the results are presented by the mean and standard deviation. Statistical significance was accepted for p <0.05. Results: We included 755 patients, 446 (59,1%) were male, age at diagnosis was 63.1±13.1 years and follow up time was 12.3±7.8 years. Five-hundred thirty two patients (70.5%) had type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. Coronary artery disease was found in 11.1% of the patients, peripheral arterial disease in 8.9% and cerebrovascular disease in 7.9%. In 2020 patients had less appointments (2.1 vs 3.4;p<0.001). The mean TC was lower in 2020 (175.3±42.4 vs 179.8±44.9mg/dL;p<0.01) as well as LDL cholesterol (93.8±35.9 vs 98.3±30.2mg/dL;p<0.01), non-HDL cholesterol (122.2±41.5 vs 128.7±43.7mg/dL;p<0.01), HbA1c (7.4±1.2 vs 7.6±1.3%;p<0.01) and fasting blood glucose (140.46±49.2 vs 145.3±57.7mg/dL;p=0.026). The mean HDL cholesterol, TG and acid uric were similar between both years. Conclusions: In our sample, we found that despite a lower number of consultations during the pandemic we obtained lower values of TC, LDL cholesterol, non–HDL cholesterol, HbA1c and fasting blood glucose.