Lipid-Lowering Therapy in PURE Poland Cohort Study

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Public Health
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains a leading cause of mortality globally.
• Effective management of cardiovascular risk (CVR) involves risk stratification and lipid-lowering therapy (LLT).
• Achieving target LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C) concentrations is crucial for reducing CVD events.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the utilization of LLT in relation to calculated CVR.
• To assess adherence to target LDL-C concentrations across different CVR strata.
• To identify the proportion of individuals not meeting LDL-C goals and not on LLT.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of 1287 participants from the Polish PURE study cohort.
• Calculation of CVR using SCORE2 or SCORE2-OP scales.
• Assessment of LDL-C levels against defined targets for various risk groups, including those with diabetes mellitus (DM), chronic kidney disease (CKD), or atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD).

Main Results:

• A high percentage of participants across all CVR groups failed to meet their target LDL-C concentration.
• The proportion not meeting LDL-C targets ranged from 50.5% (low CVR) to 98% (very high CVR).
• A majority of participants in each CVR group were not receiving LLT, with the largest group being those not meeting LDL-C targets and not on LLT.

Conclusions:

• Suboptimal LDL-C control is prevalent across all cardiovascular risk levels in the studied Polish population.
• A significant gap exists in the initiation and utilization of lipid-lowering therapy (LLT) for individuals at risk of cardiovascular events.
• Current lipid management strategies may require enhancement to improve adherence to LDL-C targets and reduce overall cardiovascular risk.