Abstract

Background: The use of statin has been encouraged in elderly high-risk patients; nevertheless, the prescription rates of statin have been shown to decline with age. Despite the current Taiwan lipid guidelines has been issued, the status for management of dyslipidemia among elderly high-risk patients in Taiwan remained unclear. The present study was aimed to investigate the prescription rates of highintensity statin (HIS)/ezetimibe and LDL-C goal attainment rates among elderly high-risk patients in a tertiary medical center.

Methods: Between July 2018 and August 2019, 208 high-risk patients with suboptimal serum LDL-C levels, including 70 elderly patients (age ≥ 65 years) and 138 non-elderly patients (age < 65 years) received lipid-lowering therapy (LLT) and observation for a 12-month follow-up. The prescription rates of any statins/HIS/ezetimibe, the percentages of LDL-C reduction, and LDL-C goal attainment rates at 12-month follow-up were compared between elderly and non-elderly high-risk patients.

Results: The serum LDL-C levels at baseline/12-month among elderly and non-elderly high-risk patients were respectively 128.8 ± 36.3/80.7 ± 46.3 and 138.5 ± 52.3/78.1 ± 37.0 mg/dL, with respectively LDL-C reductions of 34.1% and 39.6% at 12-month follow-up. The prescription rates of any statins/HIS/ezetimibe at 12-month follow-up in elderly and non-elderly high-risk patients were respectively 88.9%/68.3%/47.6% and 96.6%/72.7%/60.7%. The LDL-C goal attainment rates at 12-month follow-up in elderly and non-elderly high-risk patients were respectively 68.3% and 73.3%. All observed study outcomes were comparable between groups without significant statistical differences.

Conclusion: Our findings highlight that the elderly high-risk patients in Taiwan received similar aggressive strategy of LLT with similar LDL-C attainment rates compared with non-elderly high-risk patients.