title: [How many patients need treatment for hypercholesterolemia?].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To find out the percentage of individuals from a population who need pharmacologic treatment for their hypercholesterolemia according to different guidelines.
  
  
  METHODS
  Descriptive transversal study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Population from 6 areas of Lleida (province) including the city of Lleida.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study has been done on a randomized sample of 401 individuals. First the cardiovascular risk from the equation in the Framingham study was calculated, then the percentage of individuals who should be treated with lipid-lowering medication according to the US National Cholesterol Education Program, The European Society of Atherosclerosis and The Spanish Society of Atherosclerosis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prevalence of individuals with cholesterolemia > 250 mg/dl has been 16.3% among men and 22.4% in women. According to NCEP, 20.5% of men and 17.6% of women from 383 individuals older then 6 years old need pharmacologic treatment for hypercholesterolemia. The Framingham equation was applied to 281 individuals (over 30 and under 75 years old) estimating a risk higher than 20% in 10 years for 13.7% of the population under study (23.9% in men and 3.5% in women).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The percentage of patients who need pharmacologic treatment for hypercholesterolemia varies according to the different guidelines employed. We consider necessary the calculation of the cardiovascular risk with the Framingham equation to use lipid-lowering medication in order to achieve a better protection of the population at higher risk of developing a cardiovascular disease.
authors.affiliation: Hospital Arnau de Vilanova, Lleida.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Serna Arnáiz
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Montull Navarro
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vázquez Torguet
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gascó Eguíluz
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Peremiquel Lluch
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ortega Bravo
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006937:Hypercholesterolemia / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence
vernacular_title: Cuántos pacientes precisan tratamiento para la hipercolesteremia?