Mild hypercholesterolemia and premature heart disease: do the national criteria underestimate disease risk?
OBJECTIVE
To determine the frequency of hospital admissions for acute coronary syndrome in young adults and to examine the risk factors that predispose to the development of premature heart disease.


BACKGROUND
Significant coronary heart disease (CHD) is considered rare in the young adult. Current guidelines do not recommend treatment of mild cholesterol abnormalities for primary prevention of CHD in the young.


METHODS
This is a large case series of 449 adults (< or =50 years) admitted to the hospital with acute coronary syndrome. A history of cardiovascular risk factors and lipid profile were recorded. The presence and extent of CHD were established.


RESULTS
Mean patient age was 44 +/- 6 years. Documented CHD was present in 61% of hospital admissions. Multivariate analysis revealed that history of hypercholesterolemia, history of smoking and diabetes were independently associated with premature CHD. The fasting lipid profiles were only borderline to mildly abnormal. Serum total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and triglyceride levels were not different in cases compared with control subjects. Nearly half (49%) of those with LDL levels of > or =160 mg/dl had only one additional risk factor or none. Despite this, a history of hypercholesterolemia had independent and incremental value on other risk factors for the likelihood of premature CHD.


CONCLUSIONS
The magnitude of hospital admissions relating to premature CHD is high. In this population, the presence of borderline or mild hypercholesterolemia has significant effects on the development of premature CHD. These observations have significant implications in the development of guidelines for primary prevention of premature CHD.
Akosah
K O
KO
Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center, La Crosse, Wisconsin 54601, USA. kakosah@gundluth.org
Gower
E
E
Groon
L
L
Rooney
B L
BL
Schaper
A
A
D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D015982:Bias; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL / Q000097:blood; D048909:Diabetes Complications; D005260:Female; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D006937:Hypercholesterolemia / Q000097:blood / Q000145:classification / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010343:Patient Admission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D011322:Primary Prevention; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012307:Risk Factors; D012423:Rural Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood; D014922:Wisconsin / Q000453:epidemiology
D008078:Cholesterol, LDL; D014280:Triglycerides; D002784:Cholesterol