DYSIS study finds statins not achieving lipid targets

Preliminary results from an epidemiological study presented at the American College of Cardiology annual meeting, held in Orlando, Florida,  indicate that, despite treatment with a statin, a high proportion of  patients in Europe and Canada were not at lipid goals and/or had  abnormal levels of high-density lipoprotein and triglycerides.

The DYSIS study, which was sponsored by the European unit of US drug  major Merck & Co, found a potential gap between guideline  recommendations and clinical practice and the need for more intensive  and/or comprehensive lipid management in high-risk populations. Nearly  one in four statin-treated patients in the study population (22.8%) were  not reaching their treatment goal for low-density lipoprotein, plus they  had low HDL-C and high triglycerides.

Low HDL-cholesterol and elevated triglycerides were seen in 31.5% and  38.7%, respectively, of statin-treated patients in the study population.  Less than one-third of statin-treated subjects (31.3%) in the study  population had no lipid abnormalities. Meanwhile, those statin-treated  patients in the study population in the highest risk group were less  likely to have normal HDL-C levels compared with the low-risk group  (64.1% versus 98.6%, respectively).