Cholesterol screen

A finger-prick, non-fasting lipid panel was obtained using Cardiochek® ver. 1.2 handheld devices. A non-fasting cholesterol screen was the only feasible means to collect cholesterol levels. Non-fasting cholesterol levels are supported by the European Atherosclerosis Society and the European Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine for routine use for the assessment of plasma lipid profiles (Nordestgaard et al. 2016). The calculation of LDL cholesterol using the Friedewald equation can be altered by an increase in triglycerides that occur after eating a fatty meal, so those who screened positive in our sample would require a repeat fasting cholesterol as recommended by the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) (Stone et al. 2014). Participants were given their total cholesterol results at the time of completion as an incentive for study participation.