Knowledge Gap Regarding Low Density Lipoprotein-Cholesterol Levels in Koreans

It is well known that dyslipidemia is a major risk factor for coronary heart disease and stroke, which are currently the leading causes of death in Korea. Dyslipidemia refers to the abnormal amount or imbalance of lipids in the blood, and its clinically important types include elevated total cholesterol, elevated triglycerides, elevated low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), and decreased high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) levels. Among the major types of blood cholesterol, LDL-C is the most extensively studied in association with the risk of cardiovascular disease. Numerous observational and experimental studies have confirmed that a high LDLC level is strongly associated with the risk of cardiovascular disease, and lipid-lowering medication and lifestyle modification can effectively lower cardiovascular disease incidence and mortality. In Korea, dyslipidemia did not cause great public interest until the 1990s because of the relatively low incidence of coronary heart disease prior to 1990. Over the last few decades, obesity has become more prevalent in Korea due to increasing consumption of high-fat diets and decreasing physical activity, and has raised concerns about dyslipidemia. The Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) measured blood levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides, and HDL-C in national representative samples since 1998. Thereafter the KNHANES official reports and independent research Editorial