CRITERIA OF THE DUTCH CLINIC NETWORK PRIOR TO THE APPLICATION OF GENETIC TESTING IN FAMILIAL HYPERLIPIDEMIAE IN A GROUP OF COLOMBIAN PATIENTS

Introduction: Familial hyperlipidaemia (FH) is a group of hereditary genetic defects that lead to a significant increase in cholesterol serum concentration. Clinical familial hypercholesterolemia is diagnosed by a high serum level of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). The prevalence of this condition in the Colombian population is unknown and, on this basis, the Dutch clinic network criteria are considered as an internationally validated tool. Method: The present is an observational study that sought to identify the presence of FH based on the Dutch clinic network criteria. Patients aged 18-95 years who had a record of cardiometabolic risk variables including lipid profile and others were included in the study. Patients that did not have the aforementioned variables as well as secondary causes of hyperlipidaemia were excluded. Results: A higher prevalence was observed in the female sex, in ages oscillating between the fifth and ninth decade, 90% presented a higher percentage of very high cardiovascular risk, and 90% had a history of coronary disease or cerebrovascular disease, these data are consistent with that reported in literature. Conclusions: It is necessary to increase awareness of FH in the general population to raise consciousness of the importance of health management if there are any family members with high cholesterol or early cardiovascular disease (CVD). Future research should be conducted to assess wider implementation of the above regarding FH screening in general practice.