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Causes of death in patients with familial hypercholesterolemia
Insights
Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) significantly increases the risk of death from coronary heart disease (CHD) and is linked to pancreas cancer. FH patients experienced higher mortality rates compared to the general population.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Genetics
- Oncology
Background:
- Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is a genetic disorder characterized by high cholesterol levels.
- Untreated FH leads to premature cardiovascular disease.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the mortality rates and causes of death in patients with familial hypercholesterolemia.
- To explore potential associations between FH and other conditions, such as pancreas cancer.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of mortality data over 10 years for FH patients (homozygotes and heterozygotes).
- Comparison of mortality rates in FH patients with the general population in Japan.
Main Results:
- Five out of 15 FH homozygotes and 41 out of 527 heterozygotes died.
- Coronary heart disease (CHD) was the primary cause of death in FH heterozygotes (73.2%), with significantly higher rates (11x) than the general population.
- FH patients showed a significantly higher rate of death from pancreas cancer compared to the general population.
Conclusions:
- Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is strongly associated with increased mortality from coronary heart disease (CHD).
- FH may also be linked to an elevated risk of pancreas cancer, warranting further investigation.
Abstract:
Five out of 15 homozygotes and 41 out of 527 heterozygotes of familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) died during the past 10 years. Sudden death or heart failure was the cause of death in each of the 5 deceased homozygotes. Twenty heterozygotes died of myocardial infarction, 9 of sudden death, and 1 died after AC bypass surgery. Thus, 30 heterozygotes (73.2%) died of coronary heart disease (CHD). The mean age of death was significantly younger in male heterozygotes (54 years) than in the females (68 years). Rate of death from CHD in heterozygotes was 11 times higher than in the general population in Japan. Rate of death from pancreas cancer in FH was significantly higher than in the general population. These results suggest that FH is highly associated with pancreas cancer as well as CHD.