Prevalence of low low-density lipoprotein cholesterol with elevated high sensitivity C-reactive protein in the U.S.: implications of the JUPITER tudy.

Description

The recently published JUPITER study has demonstrated that statin therapy reduced cardiovascular events in subjects with low LDL cholesterol (<3.37 mmol/l) but elevated high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) (≥2 mg/l) concentrations. Based on that finding, the prevalence of low LDL cholesterol with hs-CRP concentrations was assessed in the National Health And Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), which is representative of the U.S. population. A total of 3.9 million men age ≥50 years and 2.6 million women age ≥60 years had low LDL cholesterol levels but elevated hs-CRP concentrations and could qualify for statin therapy based on the JUPITER results.