Data mining: Traditional Spring Festival Associated With Hypercholesterolemia

Background: Serum lipid concentrations are affected by long-term high fat diets; thus, we hypothesise that lipid levels increase after Spring Festival in China. In total, 20,192 individuals (males, 10,108; females, 10,084) were enrolled in this retrospective cross-sectional study, based on clinical data from Laboratory Information System (LIS) and Hospital Information System (HIS) in Peking Union Medical College Hospital, from 2014 to 2018. Total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) were analysed. Results: Average age, BMI, SBP, and DBP of the participants were 39.4 years, 23.7 kg/m 2 , 118 mmHg, and 73 mmHg, respectively. Serum TC, TG, and LDL levels were significantly higher in males than in females (P < 0.001); serum HDL-C was statistically lower in males (P < 0.001). In February, the TC, TG, and LDL-C levels were 8.4%, 16.3%, and 9.3% higher than the lowest levels recorded, respectively. Additionally, dyslipidaemia prevalence was statistically higher in the first week after Spring Festival than in May–January. Conclusion: Higher TC, TG, LDL-C in winter could be associated with high fat diets during Spring Festival. Spring Festival was immediately followed by a higher lipid concentration. Thus, it is necessary accurately diagnose dyslipidaemia after Spring Festival.