Statin therapy in Canadian patients with hypercholesterolemia: the Canadian Lipid Study -- Observational (CALIPSO).
BACKGROUND
Although statins are widely used to reduce low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), there is little information about patient profiles, treatment patterns and goal achievement among statin-treated patients in Canada.


OBJECTIVE
To assess the profile of statin-treated patients and to determine whether they are achieving recommended targets for LDL-C.


METHODS
The Canadian Lipid Study -- Observational (CALIPSO) was a cross-sectional study involving Canadian physicians who were among the top statin prescribers. Each physician enrolled up to 15 patients who were at least 18 years of age with a diagnosis of hyper-cholesterolemia and who had been using a statin for at least eight weeks. Sociodemographics, coronary artery disease (CAD) risk factors, pretreatment and current lipid levels, and history of lipid-lowering therapy were reported for 3721 patients.


RESULTS
Sixty-eight per cent of statin-treated patients were at high CAD risk according to the 2003 Canadian guidelines, 46.4% had established cardiovascular disease, 33.9% had diabetes and 59.5% had hypertension. Average LDL-C reductions of 32% (37% for high-risk patients) were initially required to reach goal. At the study visit, patients had been treated for an average of 4.3 years and 24.2% were using a high statin dose. Despite statin therapy, 27.2% of all patients and 36.4% of those at high CAD risk had not achieved LDL-C targets. For 67.4% of these patients, the current therapy was not modified at the study visit.


CONCLUSIONS
Despite effective therapies, many treated patients are not achieving recommended LDL-C targets. Strategies should be implemented to promote achievement of lipid treatment goals for high-risk patients, thereby reducing the risk of cardiovascular events and their associated clinical and economic burdens.
Bourgault
C
C
McGill University, Montreal, Canada. chantal_bourgault@merck.com
Davignon
Jean
J
Fodor
George
G
Gagné
Claude
C
Gaudet
Daniel
D
Genest
Jacques
J
Lavoie
Marc-Andre
MA
Leiter
Lawrence
L
McPherson
Ruth
R
Sénécal
Martin
M
Marentette
Michael
M
Sebaldt
Rolf J
RJ
D000368:Aged; D002170:Canada; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL / Q000097:blood; D015897:Comorbidity; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D019983:Guideline Adherence; D006801:Humans; D006937:Hypercholesterolemia / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D012307:Risk Factors
D008078:Cholesterol, LDL