Cholesterol levels are decreasing in the U.S., a trend researchers are attributing to a 2013 change in treatment guidelines, according to a Nov. 11 study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
In 2013, the American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association released a guideline urging physicians to assess patients' overall heart risk when considering statins as treatment, rather than just looking at cholesterol levels.
To assess the guideline's effect on national cholesterol trends, researchers analyzed CDC data on 32,278 patients between 2005 and 2016.
Among adults taking lipids, average LDL cholesterol dropped from 122 mg/dL in 2005-06 to 101 mg/dL in 2015-16. The percentage of adults eligible for statins who were actually taking the medication also increased from 41.3 percent in 2005-06 to 49.2 percent in 2015-16.
"From a public health perspective, the 2013 guidelines have seemingly improved overall cholesterol levels among American adults on statins," said senior author Pankaj Arora, MD, a physician scientist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, said in a news release.
To view the full study, click here.
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