Mortality among patients with familial hypercholesterolemia: a registry-based study in Norway, 1992-2010

Untreated patients with familial hypercholesterolemia are at increased risk of premature cardiovascular death. The primary aim of this study was to investigate whether this is also the case in the statin era.

In this registry-based study, 4688 male and female patients from the Unit for Cardiac and Cardiovascular Genetics (UCCG) Registry with verified molecular genetic diagnosis of familial hypercholesterolemia in the period 1992-2010 were linked to the Norwegian Cause of Death Registry. Standardized mortality ratios and 95% CIs were estimated. There were 113 deaths. Mean age of death was 61.1 years. Cardiovascular disease was the most common cause of death (46.0%), followed by cancer (30.1%). Compared with the Norwegian population, cardiovascular disease mortality was significantly higher in the UCCG Registry in all age groups younger than 70 years (standardized mortality ratio 2.29, 95% CI 1.65 to 3.19 in men and women combined; standardized mortality ratio 2.00, 95% CI 1.32 to 3.04 in men; standardized mortality ratio 3.03, 95% CI 1.76 to 5.21 in women). No significant differences were found in all-cause mortality or cancer mortality.

Despite prescription of lipid-lowering drugs, familial hypercholesterolemia patients still had significantly increased cardiovascular disease mortality compared with the general Norwegian population.