Faculty Opinions recommendation of From High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol to Measurements of Function: Prospects for the Development of Tests for High-Density Lipoprotein Functionality in Cardiovascular Disease.

Author(s):  
Sergio Fazio
BMJ Open ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. e019041 ◽  
Author(s):  
Farshid Hajati ◽  
Evan Atlantis ◽  
Katy J L Bell ◽  
Federico Girosi

ObjectivesWe examine the extent to which the adult Australian population on lipid-lowering medications receives the level of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) testing recommended by national guidelines.DataWe analysed records from 7 years (2008–2014) of the 10% publicly available sample of deidentified, individual level, linked Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) and Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) electronic databases of Australia.MethodsThe PBS data were used to identify individuals on stable prescriptions of lipid-lowering treatment. The MBS data were used to estimate the annual frequency of HDL-C testing. We developed a methodology to address the issue of ‘episode coning’ in the MBS data, which causes an undercounting of pathology tests. We used a published figure on the proportion of unreported HDL-C tests to correct for the undercounting and estimate the probability that an HDL-C test was performed. We judged appropriateness of testing frequency by comparing the HDL-C testing rate to guidelines’ recommendations of annual testing for people at high risk for cardiovascular disease.ResultsWe estimated that approximately 49% of the population on stable lipid-lowering treatment did not receive any HDL-C test in a given year. We also found that approximately 19% of the same population received two or more HDL-C tests within the year. These levels of underutilisation and overutilisation have been changing at an average rate of 2% and −4% a year, respectively, since 2009. The yearly expenditure associated with test overutilisation was approximately $A4.3 million during the study period, while the cost averted because of test underutilisation was approximately $A11.3 million a year.ConclusionsWe found that approximately half of Australians on stable lipid-lowering treatment may be having fewer HDL-C testing than recommended by national guidelines, while nearly one-fifth are having more tests than recommended.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huamin Liu ◽  
Lianwu Zou ◽  
Rui Zhou ◽  
Minyi Zhang ◽  
Shanyuan Gu ◽  
...  

Background: Higher visit-to-visit cholesterol has been associated with cognitive decline. However, the association between long-term increase or decrease in cholesterol and cognitive decline remains unclear.Methods: A total of 4,915 participants aged ≥45 years with normal cognition in baseline were included. The participants were divided into four groups, namely low–low, low–high, high–low, and high–high, according to the diagnostic thresholds of total cholesterol (TC), non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (NHDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) after 4 years of follow-up. Cognitive function was assessed by episodic memory and mental intactness. Binary logistic regression was used to analyse the association of cholesterol variation with cognitive decline.Results: Among the participants, 979 (19.9%) experienced global cognitive decline. The odds ratio (OR) of global cognitive and memory function decline were remarkably lower in participants in the low–high NHDL-C group than those in the low–low group [OR and 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.50 [0.26–0.95] for global cognitive decline, 0.45 [0.25–0.82] for memory function decline]. The lower OR was also significant in females (OR [95% CI]: 0.38 [0.17–0.87] for global cognitive decline; 0.44 [0.19–0.97] for memory function decline) and participants without cardiovascular disease (OR [95% CI]: 0.31 [0.11–0.87] for global cognitive decline; 0.34 [0.14–0.83] for memory function decline). The increases in other cholesterol were also negatively associated with the risk of cognitive decline although not significantly.Conclusions: A longitudinal increase in NHDL-C may be protective for cognition in females or individuals without cardiovascular disease.


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