TRIGLYCERIDES

Like cholesterol, triglycerides are a fatty substance in the blood. However, triglycerides work more like a type of fuel, circulating in the bloodstream to be used as energy by the cells. Research shows that high blood triglycerides are an independent risk factor for heart disease as they contribute to the development of atherosclerosis, which is the build-up of fatty deposits in the blood vessels.¹ High triglycerides are typically caused by a diet high in fat or kilojoules, but can also become elevated as a result of having other conditions, such as diabetes and kidney disease.

Data source and definitions Triglycerides are measured using a blood test. Abnormal triglyceride levels were defined as greater than or equal to 2.0 mmol/L. In order to get an accurate reading for triglycerides, people were required to fast for 8 hours or more beforehand. The results presented here refer only to those people who did fast (approximately 78% of adults who participated in the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Measures Survey (NATSIHMS)).

In 2012–13, almost one in four Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults (24.8%) had high triglyceride levels according to their blood test results, with higher rates among men (32.2%) than women (17.6%). A similar pattern was also seen between non-Indigenous men and women. After adjusting for differences in age structure, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were twice as likely as non-Indigenous people to have high triglycerides (rate ratio of 1.9).

Regionally, high triglyceride levels were more common among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in remote areas, where one in three people (33.5%) had high triglyceride levels compared with around one in four people in non-remote areas (23.3%).

The NATSIHMS showed that there was a sharp increase in the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with high triglyceride levels after the age of 35 years, with rates peaking at 33.2% among those aged 45–54 years. The gap between the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population and non-Indigenous population also began to noticeably widen from 35 years, with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 35–44 years being around twice as likely as their non-Indigenous counterparts to have high triglycerides.





Risk factors such as excess body weight contribute to the development of abnormal triglyceride levels.² In 2012–13, overweight or obese Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults were four times as likely to have high triglyceride levels compared with adults who were of normal weight or underweight (31.4% compared with 7.8%). However, there was no clear relationship between triglycerides and smoking.

Interestingly, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with high triglycerides were more likely than those with normal triglycerides to have abnormal levels for nearly every other chronic disease tested for in the NATSIHMS. This was particularly the case for the other cardiovascular biomarkers, such as high total cholesterol (47.4% compared with 18.6%), lower than normal HDL cholesterol (50.8% compared with 32.3%) and high LDL cholesterol (35.8% compared with 21.5%).

High triglycerides were also related to diabetes, as insulin resistance or poorly controlled diabetes can increase triglyceride levels.^{2, 3} In 2012–13, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with high triglyceride levels were more than twice as likely as those with normal triglyceride levels to have diabetes (20.2% compared with 8.1%). They were also more likely to have signs of chronic kidney disease and liver disease.



For more information on triglycerides, see Tables 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 17 on the Downloads page of this publication.

ENDNOTES

1 Talayero, BG and Sacks, FM, 2011, 'The Role of Triglycerides in Atherosclerosis', Current Cardiology Reports, <http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11886-011-0220-3#page-1>,
2 Miller, M., Stone, N.J., Ballantyne, C., Bittner, V., Criqui, M.H., Ginsberg, H.N.,..Pennathur, S., 2011, Triglycerides and Cardiovascular Disease, Circulation, 123, 2292-2333,<http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/123/20/2292.full>,
3 American Heart Association, 2014, Cholesterol Abnormalities & Diabetes, <http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/Diabetes/WhyDiabetesMatters/Cholesterol-Abnormalities-Diabetes_UCM_313868_Article.jsp>, Back to top