Abbott study data warns about triglycerides

The USA's Abbott Laboratories has sponsored a new 30-year study of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey database, conducted by the National Lipid Association, indicating that the percentage of adults with high triglycerides has doubled, leaving many people at risk for potentially life-threatening events such as heart attack or stroke. Results of the analysis were presented at the American Heart Association's Annual Scientific Sessions in New Orleans.

The study's authors say the rising rates of isolated high triglyceride levels seen over the last three decades underscore the need for physicians and patients to understand and treat all three key lipids, low- and high-density lipoprotein, and triglycerides.

The data indicate a strong correlation between obesity and high triglycerides. Rates of obesity more than doubled from 15% in 1976 to 34% in 2006, while the percentage of Americans with isolated high triglycerides also doubled from 2.4% to 5.5%. Additionally, the study revealed a strong increase in elevated triglyceride levels among people over the age of 60, with the likelihood of having unhealthy triglycerides increasing nearly five-fold from 1.8% in 1976 to 8.7% in 2006.