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Cardiovascular risk factor profiles in familial hypercholesterolemia patients with and without genetic mutation compared to a nationally representative sample of adults in a high-risk European country.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Chlebus, K; Zdrojewski, T; Gruchała, M; Gałąska, R; Pajkowski, M; Kocejko, MR; Chmara, M; Pencina, MJ
Published in: Am Heart J
December 2019

BACKGROUND: There is a paucity of data on the distribution of cardiovascular risk factors in patients with familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) as compared to the general population. The aim of the study was to compare cardiovascular risk factors in a cohort of FH patients to the representative sample of adults in Poland who represent a high-cardiovascular risk European region. METHODS: We compared the distribution of risk factors in 1,382 individuals with FH phenotype referred for genetic testing between 2006 and 2014 to the National Centre of Familial Hypercholesterolemia in Gdansk, Poland. The cohort was comprised of 637 positive FH(+) and 745 negative FH(-) patients who were compared to a nationally representative sample of 2,413 adults age 18-79, standardized by age and sex, from the NATPOL 2011 study (NATPOL). We analyzed patients' distribution of history of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) and standard risk factors including total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP, DBP), body mass index, smoking, and diabetes. RESULTS: FH(+) patients (mean age 45.6 years) had the highest LDL-C of 241.7 mg/dL (95% CI 234.8-248.5) compared to 206.1 mg/dL (200.5-211.7) in FH(-) patients (mean age 48.2) and 126.2 mg/dL (124.8-127.6) in NATPOL. Mean SBP was the lowest in FH(+) patients at 128.7 mm Hg (126.7-130.7) compared to 133.4 mm Hg (132.6-134.3) in NATPOL and 134.4 mm Hg (132.3-136.5) in FH(-). No differences were found in the prevalence of diabetes and body mass index. Smoking was less common in FH(+) at 12.4% (9.4-15.4) compared to both FH(-) and NATPOL: 20.4% (16.6-24.1) and 28.4% (26.6-30.2), respectively. The prevalence of individuals with a history of ASCVD in both FH(+) and FH(-) was nearly 3-fold higher compared to NATPOL: 26% (21.8-30.1) and 26.6% (22.2-30.9) versus 9.5% (8.3-10.7), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The FH(+) patients had significantly higher mean LDL-C, but the levels of nonlipid factors were lower or similar compared to the other groups. Both FH(+) and FH(-) were characterized by a heavy burden of ASCVD. This suggests that cholesterol, and no other risk factors, is a key contributor to cardiovascular risk in patients with FH, especially those with genetic mutation.

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Published In

Am Heart J

DOI

EISSN

1097-6744

Publication Date

December 2019

Volume

218

Start / End Page

32 / 45

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Triglycerides
  • Smoking
  • Risk Factors
  • Prevalence
  • Poland
  • Mutation
  • Middle Aged
  • Male
  • Hyperlipoproteinemia Type II
  • Humans
 

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Chlebus, K., Zdrojewski, T., Gruchała, M., Gałąska, R., Pajkowski, M., Kocejko, M. R., … Pencina, M. J. (2019). Cardiovascular risk factor profiles in familial hypercholesterolemia patients with and without genetic mutation compared to a nationally representative sample of adults in a high-risk European country. Am Heart J, 218, 32–45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ahj.2019.09.007
Chlebus, Krzysztof, Tomasz Zdrojewski, Marcin Gruchała, Rafał Gałąska, Marcin Pajkowski, Marzena Romanowska- Kocejko, Magdalena Chmara, and Michael J. Pencina. “Cardiovascular risk factor profiles in familial hypercholesterolemia patients with and without genetic mutation compared to a nationally representative sample of adults in a high-risk European country.Am Heart J 218 (December 2019): 32–45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ahj.2019.09.007.
Journal cover image

Published In

Am Heart J

DOI

EISSN

1097-6744

Publication Date

December 2019

Volume

218

Start / End Page

32 / 45

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Triglycerides
  • Smoking
  • Risk Factors
  • Prevalence
  • Poland
  • Mutation
  • Middle Aged
  • Male
  • Hyperlipoproteinemia Type II
  • Humans