Hypertriglyceridemia, an Underestimated Cardiovascular Risk Factor: An Epidemiological Study of the Rome Area
- PDF / 403,270 Bytes
- 4 Pages / 595.276 x 790.866 pts Page_size
- 6 Downloads / 197 Views
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Hypertriglyceridemia, an Underestimated Cardiovascular Risk Factor: An Epidemiological Study of the Rome Area Roberto Volpe1 • Giulio Nati2 • Alberto Chiriatti3 • Massimo Sabatini2 Fabio Valente3 • On behalf of the Gruppo Progetto DATAMeg
•
Received: 12 May 2017 / Accepted: 7 July 2017 Springer International Publishing AG 2017
Abstract Introduction Hypertriglyceridemia (triglycerides C200 mg/ dL) is a major cardiovascular risk factor. Despite the high incidence of this condition in the Italian population, epidemiological information remains limited. Aim To analyze a large database of clinical charts from general practitioners in the Rome area of Italy. Methods In this study, the DATAMEG database of patients treated in the Rome area between 2000 and 2015 was analyzed. The database was searched for information on (1) all patients diagnosed with hypertriglyceridemia, (2) all prescriptions for the treatment of hypertriglyceridemia, and (3) all patients who had an acute myocardial infarction. Results The overall prevalence of hypertriglyceridemia was 4.4% (3647/82,595). Among patients followed from January 1, 2015 onwards, 2786/55,345 (5.0%) were diagnosed with hypertriglyceridemia. Of these, 418 (15.0%) received at least one prescription of triglyceride-lowering treatment. Over the same period, 1653 patients had at least three measurements of triglycerides C200 mg/dL, with only 357 (21.6%) receiving at least one prescription of triglyceride-lowering drugs in the year following the last measurement. Furthermore, 513 patients had at least one measurement of C500 mg/dL. Of these, only 246 (48.0%) received at least one prescription of
This article is part of the topical collection on Epidemiology of Hypertension. & Roberto Volpe [email protected] 1
Italian National Research Council (CNR), Piazza Aldo Moro 7, 00183 Rome, Italy
2
Gruppo Progetto DATAMeg, Rome, Italy
3
FIMMG ASL Roma 3 Distretto X Municipio, Rome, Italy
triglyceride-lowering drugs in the year following the last measurement. In total, 3485 patients had an acute myocardial infarction (prevalence, 4.3%) in 2015. Of these, only 288 (8.3%) received at least one prescription of triglyceridelowering drugs in the year following this event. Conclusion These findings confirmed a pattern of inadequate treatment of hypertriglyceridemia in the Rome area. Keywords Epidemiological study Hypertriglyceridemia Lipid lowering treatment Myocardial infarction
1 Introduction Cardiovascular diseases represent the main cause of death in the Italian population and are associated with a major healthcare burden [1]. Many risk factors for cardiovascular disease, such as obesity, hypertension, and dyslipidemia, are modifiable [2]. Therefore, early detection of these risk factors is of crucial importance both for general practitioners (GPs) and cardiologists. The introduction of statins has led to a marked decrease in the incidence of cardiovascular events in patients with hyperlipidemia [3]. Accordingly, reduction of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) c
Data Loading...
