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Healthy Aging - Cholesterol Checked in Past 5 Years
Indicator 14: Cholesterol Checked in Past 5 Years
High serum cholesterol is a major risk factor for coronary heart disease, a leading cause of illness and death among older adults. Periodic cholesterol screening is an essential component of preventive health care. Fasting cholesterol levels should be measured every five years for all adults.(1)
Among the major U.S. racial and ethnic groups, Hispanics were the least likely and non-Hispanic blacks the most likely to have had their cholesterol measured within the past five years in 2003.(2)
Cholesterol screening within the past five years rose with education levels among older adults in 2003.
A confidence interval (CI) describes the level of
uncertainty of an estimate and specifies the range in which the true value is
likely to fall. The State of Aging and Health in America online report
uses a 95% level of significance, which means that 95% of the time, the true
value falls within these boundaries.
†
Rankings are based on the relative numeric scores for
each indicator, with a ranking of "1" indicating the highest rank.
‡
Grades are calculated as tertiles (thirds) and show state performance relative
to all other states.
§
2003 data are used for Hawaii because no 2004 data exist.
Note:When comparing
prevalence of variables across states or years, we recommend the use of
confidence intervals. If the confidence intervals overlap, the difference is
not statistically significant.
References:
1. National Institutes of Health. Third Report of the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults (Adult Treatment Panel III) Executive Summary. 2001. Available at http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/cholesterol/atp3xsum.pdf (accessed May 23, 2006).
2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Trends in cholesterol screening and awareness of high blood cholesterol—United States, 1991–2003. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 2005;54(35):865 –870.
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