Big data and severe hypertriglyceridemia: Prevalence in 297,909 individuals

Background Severe hypertriglyceridemia (sHTG) is defined as serum concentrations of triglycerides (TG) ≥ than 10 mmol/L. The prevalence of sHTG has rarely been assessed in large databases. Methods Based on a huge sample of 1,003,222 lipid panels, we assessed the prevalence of sHTG. All subjects were recruited in the same University Hospital during visits and hospitalizations and in the same laboratory. Results From 2006 to 2017, 2441 (0.24%) sHTG episodes were observed. During the same period, 297,909 lipid panels were obtained from subjects who had visited various physicians for the first time in our University Hospital. The sample included subjects from 0 to 114 years, 62% aged between 18–70, 51.3% were women, and the mean age was 52.9 ± 23.6. Overall, 403 subjects had sHTG, 303 (75%) in men and 100 (25%) in women. The prevalence of sHTG was 0.135% (95% Confidence Interval: 0.122–0.148); 0.209% (95% CI: 0.186–0.232) in men; 0.065% (95% CI: 0.052–0.078) in women. The prevalence of sHTG was different across gender ( P P for trend  P Conclusions The prevalence of sHTG was 1/1000 and these subjects have a high risk of life-threatening complications of severe and recurrent pancreatitis.