Association between Pemafibrate Therapy and Triglyceride to HDL-Cholesterol Ratio

Background: Pemafibrate is a novel selective peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α modulator, which was demonstrated to reduce serum triglyceride level with few drug-related adverse events in phase II and III clinical trials. However, its clinical implication in real-world practice remains unknown. Triglyceride/HDL-cholesterol ratio is a surrogate of small dense LDL-cholesterol, which is a newly proposed cardiovascular risk factor independent of LDL-cholesterol levels. Methods: Consecutive patients who received pemafibrate between April 2020 and September 2021 and continued therapy for at least 3 months were included in this retrospective analysis. The primary outcome was the trend in triglyceride/HDL-cholesterol ratio during the 3-month treatment period. The change in cardiovascular event rate between the one-year pre-treatment period and the on-treatment period was also analyzed. Results: A total of 19 patients (median age 63 years, 74% men) were included and continued pemafibrate therapy for 3 months without any drug-related adverse events. Sixteen were add-on and three were conversions from other fibrates. Triglyceride/HDL-cholesterol ratio decreased significantly from 5.85 (4.19, 16.1) to 3.14 (2.39, 4.62) (p < 0.001). The cardiovascular event rate decreased significantly from 0.632 events/year to 0.080 events/year (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Pemafibrate therapy might have the potential to lower triglyceride/HDL-cholesterol ratio and decrease cardiovascular events.