{"id":9438,"date":"2025-03-01T13:55:40","date_gmt":"2025-03-01T18:55:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dhss.delaware.gov\/dph\/cholesterol_update\/"},"modified":"2025-03-02T00:23:01","modified_gmt":"2025-03-02T05:23:01","slug":"cholesterol_update","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/dhss.delaware.gov\/dph\/dpc\/cholesterol_update\/","title":{"rendered":"dpc\/cholesterol_update ~  Update on High Blood Cholesterol data  &#8211; Delaware Health and Social Services &#8211; State of Delaware"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-swiftype-index=\"true\">\n\n\n\n\n\n  <br>\n\n\n  \n\n\n  <div class=\"container\" id=\"main_header\">\n\n\n    <!-- BEGIN readspeaker div -->\n\n\n    <div class=\"rs_skip rsbtn rs_preserve\" id=\"readspeaker_button1\">\n\n\n      <a accesskey=\"L\" class=\"rsbtn_play\" href=\"https:\/\/app-na.readspeaker.com\/cgi-bin\/rsent?customerid=7262&#038;lang=en_us&#038;readid=main_content&#038;url=https:\/\/dhss.delaware.gov\/dph\/dpc\/cholesterol_update.html\" title=\"Listen to this page using ReadSpeaker\">\n\n\n        <span class=\"rsbtn_left rsimg rspart\"><span class=\"rsbtn_text\"><span>Listen<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n\n\n        <span class=\"rsbtn_right rsimg rsplay rspart\"><\/span>\n\n\n      <\/a>\n\n\n    <\/div>\n\n\n    <!-- END readspeaker div -->\n\n\n\n\n\n    \n\n\n    <header class=\"pull-left\">\n\n\n      <h1><!--[type=EDIT name=\"Page Title\"]--><\/h1><h1><br> Delaware Cholesterol Data Summary<\/h1><h1><!--[END]--><\/h1>\n\n\n    <\/header>\n\n\n  <\/div><br>\n\n\n \n\n\n  <div class=\"container\">\n\n\n    <div class=\"row\">\n\n\n      <div class=\"col-md-3\" id=\"leftCol\">\n\n\n        <div class=\"panel-group\" id=\"accordion\">\n\n\n          <div class=\"panel sectionmenu_panel\">\n\n\n            <div class=\"panel-heading\">\n\n\n              <p class=\"panel-title\"><a class=\"agency_nav\" data-parent=\"#accordion\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapseOne\"><strong><i class=\"fa fa-align-justify fa-fw\"><\/i> Public Health Menu<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n            <\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n            <div class=\"panel-collapse collapse in\" id=\"collapseOne\">\n\n\n              <div class=\"panel-body\" id=\"clf_nav\">\n\n\n                  <ul class=\"nav nav-stacked nav-pills-clf\" id=\"agency_sidebar\">\n    <li><a href=\"\/dph\/\"><h2>Home <i class=\"fa fa-home fa-fw\"><\/i><\/h2><\/a><\/li>\n    <li class=\"toplevel\"><a data-parent=\"#agency_sidebar\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#HomeMenu\"><h2>About <i class=\"fa fa-caret-right fa-fw\"><\/i><\/h2><\/a>\n      <ul class=\"panel-collapse collapse\" id=\"HomeMenu\">\n        <li><a href=\"\/dph\/about.html\">About DPH<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"\/dph\/sections.html\">Sections &#038; 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This may require a break in the trend line, with 2017 as the new baseline.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>The BRFS asks cholesterol questions every other year, in odd-numbered years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>The prevalence of high cholesterol <strong>increases with age<\/strong>. Only 19.0 percent of Delaware adults ages 18-44 have been told they have high cholesterol.\u00a0 However, 38.1 percent of adults ages 45-54, 48.5 percent of adults age 55-64, and 53.8 percent of adults ages 65 years and older have been told they have high cholesterol.\u00a0 These increases are statistically significant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>Women have a slightly lower prevalence of high cholesterol compared to men;\u00a0<strong>35.9 percent<\/strong>\u00a0of Delaware women have been told they have high cholesterol, compared to\u00a0<strong>39.6 percent<\/strong>\u00a0of men. This difference is <strong>NOT<\/strong> statistically significant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>Non-Hispanic white Delaware adults\u00a0reported having slightly higher prevalence of high cholesterol (40.8 percent) than Black adults (33.8 percent) and Hispanic adults (25.6 percent). The difference between white and\u00a0Hispanic adults was\u00a0statistically significant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>There were no significant differences reported among those with different educational attainment: 39.5 percent of Delaware adults with less than a high school diploma reported having high cholesterol, 34.6 percent of Delaware adults with a high school diploma reported having high cholesterol, 38.2 percent of Delaware adults with some post high school education reported having high cholesterol, and 39.9 percent of Delaware adults with a college degree reported having high cholesterol.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<h3>Testing for Blood Cholesterol<\/h3>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>The National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) recommends adults ages 20\u00a0and older\u00a0should have their cholesterol checked every 5 years.\u00a0 Of Delaware adults aged 20 years and older,\u00a0<strong>95.4 percent\u00a0<\/strong>reported having their blood cholesterol level\u00a0tested within the last five years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>For those with borderline high or high cholesterol, recommendations on how often a cholesterol test is required\u00a0should be made by a health care professional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<h3>Risk Factors<\/h3>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>There are several risk factors for high cholesterol, including existing\u00a0health conditions, behavioral risks, and\u00a0family history or genetics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>Diabetes is known to be associated with high cholesterol.\u00a0 Of Delaware adults who have diabetes,\u00a0<strong>63.5 percent <\/strong>also have high cholesterol.\u00a0 When adjusted for other demographic characteristics and risk factors, Delaware adults with diabetes were still more likely\u00a0to have high cholesterol than adults without diabetes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>Behavioral risk factors include poor diet, physical inactivity, obesity, smoking, and excessive drinking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>Prevalence of high cholesterol among adults who are physically inactive is\u00a0<strong>42.3 percent<\/strong>; and the prevalence among obese adults is\u00a0<strong>42.1 percent<\/strong>.\u00a0 Adults who smoke cigarettes have a high cholesterol prevalence of\u00a0<strong>37.5 percent<\/strong>.\u00a0 Those who report chronic heavy alcohol use have a high cholesterol prevalence of\u00a0<strong>43.9 percent<\/strong>. The highest prevalence (<strong>46.7 percent<\/strong>) is among adults with disabilities.\u00a0\u00a0 The underlying causes of those disabilities may be conditions which increase the risk for high cholesterol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>Family history and genetics are likely to play a role in whether an individual develops high cholesterol.\u00a0 For example, the risk of high cholesterol can increase when someone who has a family history of hypertension also engages in other behavioral risk factors, such as physical inactivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Complications<\/strong>: High cholesterol is a risk factor for heart disease.\u00a0 Some of the conditions to which high cholesterol can contribute include <strong>heart attack, angina or chest pain, stroke, and aortic aneurysm<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<h3>What You Can Do:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>Take medicines as prescribed by your doctor. There are medications which can help lower or control high cholesterol, decreasing your risk of complications.\u00a0 If a medication is prescribed to you, take it as instructed.\u00a0 If your risk factors change (for example, if you\u00a0start an exercise program or change your diet), tell your doctor or health care team because your medication may need to be adjusted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Make Healthy Lifestyle Changes<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<ul>\n\n\n\n <li><strong>Manage any health conditions<\/strong>\u00a0you may have.\u00a0 If you need help learning to manage any chronic disease with which you may have been diagnosed, the Division of Public Health offers free classes.\u00a0 A class schedule is available\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthydelaware.org\/selfmanagement\">the HealthyDelaware.org website<\/a><\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n <li>Eat a diet high in vegetables and fruits, and <strong>low in saturated fats, refined carbohydrates, and sugars<\/strong>.\u00a0 Eat primarily high nutrient, low-calorie foods.<\/li>\n\n\n\n <li>Maintain a <strong>healthy weight<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n <li>Be <strong>physically active<\/strong>, including both <strong>strength-building and aerobic exercise<\/strong>.\u00a0 Children and youth should get an hour of physical activity daily, and adults should get at least 30 minutes a day at least 5 days a week.<\/li>\n\n\n\n <li><strong>Don\u2019t smoke<\/strong>.\u00a0 If you don\u2019t smoke, don\u2019t start.\u00a0 If you smoke, try to quit; and don\u2019t expose others to your second-hand smoke.\u00a0 If you need <strong>help quitting<\/strong>, call the toll-free Delaware Quitline at <strong>1-866-409-1858<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n <li>If you drink alcoholic beverages, <strong>do so in moderation<\/strong> \u2014 up to one per day for women or smaller adults, or up to two per day for men or larger adults.\u00a0 Never drink when it could put you or others at risk.\u00a0 Women who are pregnant should not drink alcohol.<\/li>\n\n\n\n <li>For <strong>more information<\/strong> regarding heart disease and other chronic diseases and their related risk factors, visit <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthydelaware.org\/Individuals\/Heart\">HealthyDelaware.org<\/a><\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/dph\/pdf\/2021DelawareCholesterolDS.pdf\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 11px;\">A printable PDF version of this page is available here.<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"brfsurveys.html\"><span style=\"font-size: 11px;\"><strong>Return to the main Delaware BRFS page.<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n  <!--[END]-->\n\n\n  \n\n\n      <\/div>\n\n\n    <\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><!-- \/container -->\n\n\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Listen Delaware Cholesterol Data Summary Public Health Menu Home About About DPH Sections &#038; Programs Office Locations Contact Info Calendar Services A-Z Services Air &#038; Water Quality Birth, Death, &#038; Marriage Records Clinics Health Data &#038; Statistics Emergency Preparedness Health &#038; Wellness Healthy Homes Healthy Workplaces Laboratory Restaurant Inspections Screening and Testing WIC Additional Services [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"parent":9401,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-9438","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dhss.delaware.gov\/dph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9438","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dhss.delaware.gov\/dph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dhss.delaware.gov\/dph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dhss.delaware.gov\/dph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dhss.delaware.gov\/dph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9438"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dhss.delaware.gov\/dph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9438\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10677,"href":"https:\/\/dhss.delaware.gov\/dph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9438\/revisions\/10677"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dhss.delaware.gov\/dph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9401"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dhss.delaware.gov\/dph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9438"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}