Association between coronavirus disease 2019 vaccination and hypercholesterolemia: A cross-sectional study from the 2023 National Health Interview Survey

Hyperlipidemia, a prevalent metabolic disorder, affects global health. Although extensive safety data exist for COVID-19 vaccines, their metabolic effects remain insufficiently studied. This study investigated the association between COVID-19 vaccination and hyperlipidemia development to inform public health policy. This study was based on the adult data from the National Health Interview Survey database in 2023. After excluding the data that did not meet the criteria, baseline statistics, weighted multivariate logistic regression analysis, and risk stratification analysis were conducted to explore the relationship between COVID-19 vaccination and hypercholesterolemia. Finally, the predictive value of COVID-19 vaccination for hyperlipidemia was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. This study included a total of 29,522 participants. After screening, 15,502 participants were enrolled. There were significant differences in covariates such as COVID-19 vaccination, hyperlipidemia, marital status, and other covariates between the hypercholesterolemia group (n = 3689) and the control group (n = 11,813) (P < .001). Subsequently, 3 generalized linear models and subgroup analyses all showed that COVID-19 vaccination was associated with hypercholesterolemia (odds ratios > 1) and was not significantly interfered with by other covariates. Notably, among cohabiting unmarried individuals without hypertension, those vaccinated against COVID-19 had the highest risk of hypercholesterolemia. Finally, the ROC curve indicated that COVID-19 vaccination had a certain predictive effect on the risk of hypercholesterolemia. This cross-sectional study observed an association between COVID-19 vaccination and hypercholesterolemia, providing a valuable reference for subsequent research. However, this study has a cross-sectional design, subsequent studies should adopt a longitudinal approach to further verify the causality of these associations.