Dyslipidemia in adults with congenital heart disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis
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Date
2026-08-25
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Abstract
Aims: Several particular characteristics of patients with congenital heart disease could affect lipid levels. The objectives of this study were to analyze the prevalence of dyslipidemia in patients with congenital heart disease and to compare lipid levels between patients with congenital heart disease and a control group.
Data synthesis: This systematic review and meta-analysis was performed according to PRISMA guidelines and registered in PROSPERO (CRD42023432041). A literature search was conducted to identify studies reporting lipid levels or the prevalence of dyslipidemia in patients with congenital heart disease. A qualitative analysis was performed for studies reporting dyslipidemia prevalence, while a quantitative analysis was conducted for studies comparing lipid values between patients with congenital heart disease and controls. A total of 29 observational studies involving 22,914 patients with congenital heart disease and 641,086 controls were included. The reported prevalence of hyperlipidemia or dyslipidemia ranged from 14.3% to 69.9%. The quantitative analysis showed that patients with congenital heart disease had lower levels of total cholesterol (MD: −18.9; 95% CI: −22.2 to −15.7), LDL-C (MD: −10.7; 95% CI: −13.1 to −8.3), and HDL-C (MD: −6.3; 95% CI: −7.7 to −4.9) compared with controls. No differences were observed in triglyceride levels.
Conclusions: The findings indicate variability in the reported prevalence of dyslipidemia among adults with congenital heart disease. However, the quantitative analysis showed lower levels of total cholesterol, LDL-C, and HDL-C in patients with congenital heart disease compared with controls. Further research using standardized definitions of dyslipidemia and considering the heterogeneity of congenital heart disease populations is needed.