Application of New Cholesterol Guidelines to a Population-Based Sample

The investigators used NHANES data for 2005 to 2010 to extrapolate the effects of the new 2013 cholesterol treatment guidelines across the United States. They estimate that the new guidelines would increase the number of adults eligible for statin therapy by 12.8 million. Until recently, the guidelines of the Third Adult Treatment Panel (ATP III) of the National Cholesterol Education Program were the recommended guidelines to aid in the treatment of hyperlipidemia in the United States. 1 , 2 The ATP-III guidelines identified patients with established cardiovascular disease or diabetes and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels of 100 mg per deciliter (2.59 mmol per liter) or higher as candidates for statin therapy. In addition, the ATP-III guidelines recommended the use of statin therapy for primary prevention in patients on the basis of a combined assessment of LDL cholesterol level and the 10-year risk of coronary . . .