New analysis from Statistics Canada, based on the Canadian Health Measures (CHMS) study of biomarkers measured in the blood and urine of Canadians, found that several remain unchanged when compared with levels measured prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Today's release includes updates to several data tables covering a broad set of laboratory data that includes biomarkers for cardiovascular health and diabetes (e.g., cholesterol, glucose and glycated hemoglobin A1c), nutrition (e.g., vitamin D) and more,” Statistics Canada’s researchers write in the report, Canadians Health Measures Survey: Non-environmental and environmental laboratory data, 2022 to 2024.
During the period in question – the most recent cycle of research having been completed between 2022 and 2024 – the average high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) reading among adults between 20 and 79 years of age was 1.30mmol/L for men and 1.57 mmol/L (millimoles per litre) for women. In contrast, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) averages were 2.8mmol/L. In both cases, these figures are unchanged when compared to the 2018 to 2019 study period.
“Although these averages were stable across the two periods, it is important to note that LDL-C levels above 3.5 mmol/L are often seen as too high for many adults, depending on their cardiovascular risk.”
LDL-C levels were not significantly different across age groups, while statistically significant differences in HDL-C levels were observed across the different cohorts. Those between 20 and 39 years of age had levels around 1.38 mmol/L on average, compared with 1.44 reported among adults between 40 and 59 and 1.49 among those aged 60 to 79.
Diabetes biomarkers are also unchanged when compared to the previous study period. The average fasting blood glucose level among adults between 20 and 79 years of age was 5.6 mmol/L.
