Objective: To perform etiological diagnosis of hyperlipidemia (HL) brought to light in family medical (general practice) consultations.
Design: Retrospective descriptive study. SITE. A basic health zone (ZBS).
Patients: 231 patients diagnosed as having HL by their doctors.
Main measurements and results: Lipidic levels (average figures): total cholesterol (CT): 280; C-LDL: 201; C-HDL: 49 and triglycerides (TGL): 198. Distribution by phenotypes: IIa: 178 patients, IIb: 42, IV:5, with 6 doubtful cases. Distribution according to etiological diagnosis: 79% primary HL (83% polygenic and 17% family) 15% secondary HL, with 6% having both types in association.
Conclusions: Diagnosis of HL in the visits to the family doctor reveals probability-predictable patterns based, above all, on the the overall assessment made by the doctor of his/her patient. The survey and the family study are very limited in our circles. The predominating type of HL is primary polygenic where prescribing of special diets will be sufficient in most cases.