Prevalence of dyslipidemia in Iranian children and adolescents: A systematic review

Background: Dyslipidemia is considered as an important modifi able risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Th e link between childhood dyslipidemia and occurrence of atherosclerosis and its sequels in adulthood are well-documented. Th is study aimed to systematically review the prevalence of dyslipidemia among Iranian children and adolescents. Materials and Methods: An electronic search was conducted on studies published from January 1990 to January 2014. Th e main international electronic data sources were PubMed and the NLM Gateway (for MEDLINE), Institute of Scientifi c Information (ISI), and SCOPUS. For Persian databases, we used domestic databases with systematic search capability including IranMedex, Irandoc, and Scientifi c Information Database (SID). We included all available population-based studies and national surveys conducted in the pediatric age group (aged <21 years). Results: In this review, 1772 articles were identifi ed (PubMed: 1464; Scopus: 11; ISI: 58; SID: 90; IranMedex: 149; Irandoc: 57). During three refi ne steps and after removing of duplicates, 182 articles related to the study domain were selected. After quality assessment, 46 studies were selected for text appraisal, of which 26 qualifi ed articles were evaluated at the fi nal step. Th e prevalence range of hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) were 3-48%, 3-50%, 5-20% and 5-88%, respectively. Low HDL-C and hypertriglyceridemia were the most prevalent lipid disorders in this group of population. Conclusion: Dyslipidemia is a common health problem among Iranian children and adolescents. Few data were available in preschool children. Th is fi nding provides useful information for health policy makers to implement action-oriented interventions for prevention and early control of this important CVD risk factor.