Australian Burden of Disease Study 2015: Interactive data on risk factor burden

In 2015, 3% of the disease burden in Australia was due to high cholesterol, contributing to coronary heart disease and stroke burden.

These estimates reflect the amount of burden that could have been avoided if all people in Australia did not have high cholesterol.

How much burden was attributable to high cholesterol?

High cholesterol contributed 37% of coronary heart disease burden and 15% stroke burden.

How did burden attributable to high cholesterol vary by age and sex?

Burden due to high cholesterol was estimated in people aged 25 and over. Burden due to high cholesterol increased with age, peaking at age 65–84 years. Between ages 25–64 years, males experienced almost 3 times as much disease burden due to high cholesterol compared with females.

In both males and females, the most burden due to high cholesterol was from coronary heart disease.

Did attributable burden vary by socioeconomic group?

Disease burden due to high cholesterol was 1.9 times greater in the lowest (most disadvantaged) socioeconomic group compared with the highest (least disadvantaged) group.

How has disease burden due to high cholesterol changed over time?

The rate of total burden due to high cholesterol (from all linked diseases) between 2003 and 2015 decreased by 49% (from 10.3 DALY to 5.2 DALY per 1,000 population).