%0 Journal Article %T Lipid Levels and Disorders in Hospital Attendants in Banjul, The Gambia %A Bernard C. Nkum %A Frank B. Micah %A Theophilus C. Ankrah %A Ousman A. Nyan %J Open Access Library Journal %V 3 %N 3 %P 1-13 %@ 2333-9721 %D 2016 %I Open Access Library %R 10.4236/oalib.1102333 %X Background: One of the major risk factors for cardiovascular diseases is lipid abnormalities. Objective: To determine the mean lipid levels and the prevalence of lipid disorders among patients attending outpatient clinics in Banjul, The Gambia. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Out-patient clinics of Royal Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital and Medical Research Council Laboratories in Banjul, The Gambia. Methods: Two hundred and eight consecutive patients with systemic hypertension on treatment and 108 non-hypertensive patients aged over 25 years were enrolled. A questionnaire was filled and anthropometric measurements were taken. An oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was done as well as blood investigations including total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL) and triglycerides (TG). Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) was calculated using the Friedwald formula. There were 305 participants with complete lipid results and these were included in the analysis. Results: The mean (standard deviation) TC was 4.92 (1.78) mmol/L; mean TG was 0.94 (0.56) mmol/L; mean HDL was 1.28 (0.48) mmol/L and mean LDL was 3.20 (1.41) mmol/L. The prevalence of lipid abnormalities was 41% for high TC, 9% for high TG, 36% for low HDL, 49% for high LDL and 6% for atherogenic dyslipidaemia. Conclusion: The mean lipid level and the prevalence of lipid disorders in patients attend- ing clinics in Banjul were high. %K Lipids %K Lipid Disorders %K Atherogenic Dyslipidaemia %K Systemic Hypertension %K Diabetes Mellitus %U http://www.oalib.com/paper/3158795