Related factors of meeting National Cholesterol Education Program-recommended goals with atorvastatin

The aim of this study was to observe the efficacy of atorvastatin and the related factors of meeting the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP)-recommended low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels in patients with hypercholesterolemia. A total of 107 patients were treated with atorvastatin 10 mg/day for 12 weeks. Eighty % of the patients achieved the target goals. There was a significant difference in the initial body mass index (BMI) between patients achieving the target goals and those not achieving the target goals (p < 0.05). In multiple stepwise logistic regression analysis, initial BMI and complications correlated with reaching the NCEP-recommended target goals (p < 0.05). A great number of patients treated with atorvastatin, including those previously poorly controlled with other therapies, reached the target goals at the starting dose 10 mg/day. BMI may be a useful index of achieving the NCEP-recommended target goals with atorvastatin.