Assessing the Validity of the Criteria for the Extreme Risk Category of Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease: A Nationwide Population-Based Study

Human papillomavirus infection and cardiovascular mortality: a cohort study

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

High-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) infection-a well-established risk factor for cervical cancer-has associations with cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, its relationship with CVD mortality remains uncertain. This study examined the associations between HR-HPV infection and CVD mortality.

METHODS

As part of a health examination, 163 250 CVD-free Korean women (mean age: 40.2 years) underwent HR-HPV screening and were tracked for up to 17 years (median: 8.6 years). National death records identified the CVD mortality cases. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for CVD mortality were estimated using Cox proportional hazard regression analyses.

RESULTS

During 1 380 953 person-years of follow-up, 134 CVD deaths occurred, with a mortality rate of 9.1 per 105 person-years for HR-HPV(-) women and 14.9 per 105 person-years for HR-HPV(+) women. After adjustment for traditional CVD risk factors and confounders, the HRs (95% CI) for atherosclerotic CVD (ASCVD), ischaemic heart disease (IHD), and stroke mortality in women with HR-HPV infection compared with those without infection were 3.91 (1.85-8.26), 3.74 (1.53-9.14), and 5.86 (0.86-40.11), respectively. The association between HR-HPV infection and ASCVD mortality was stronger in women with obesity than in those without (P for interaction = .006), with corresponding HRs (95% CI) of 4.81 (1.55-14.93) for obese women and 2.86 (1.04-7.88) for non-obese women.

CONCLUSIONS

In this cohort study of young and middle-aged Korean women, at low risks for CVD mortality, those with HR-HPV infection had higher death rates from CVD, specifically ASCVD and IHD, with a more pronounced trend in obese individuals.

Clinical Characteristics of Patients With Statin Discontinuation in Korea: A Nationwide Population-Based Study

Objective

To investigate the clinical characteristics of patients with statin discontinuation in Korea, using a nationwide database.

Methods

We analyzed 1,308,390 patients treated with statin for the first time in their life between 2016 and 2017 using the Korean National Health Information Database. The patients participated in the Korean National Health Screening Program within two years before taking statin. Patients with statin discontinuation were defined as those who were not prescribed statin between 365 days and 730 days after the initial statin prescription.

Results

The overall prevalence of statin discontinuation was 39.44%. Patients with statin discontinuation were younger, had lower body mass index (BMI), included a higher number of smokers and drinkers, did not exercise regularly, with fewer cases of hypertension and diabetes mellitus than those without statin discontinuation (p<0.001). Compared with patients aged 20-29 years, the risk of statin discontinuation showed a U-shaped relationship with age (odds ratios [ORs]: 0.619 in 30-39 years; 0.454 in 40-49 years; 0.345 in 50-59 years; 0.307 in 60-69 years; 0.324 in 70-79 years; and 0.415 in ≥80 years). In addition, increased BMI was associated with decreased risk of statin discontinuation (ORs: 0.969 with 25.0-29.9 kg/m2, and 0.890 with ≥30.0 kg/m2). Patients with hypertension and diabetes mellitus were at a lower risk of statin discontinuation (OR: 0.414 for hypertension; 0.416 for diabetes mellitus).

Conclusion

The prevalence of patients with statin discontinuation in Korea was 39.44% at 1 to 2 years after initial statin treatment.

Are Only p-Values Less Than 0.05 Significant? A p-Value Greater Than 0.05 Is Also Significant!

Statistical hypothesis testing compares the significance probability value and the significance level value to determine whether or not to reject the null hypothesis. This concludes "significant or not significant." However, since this process is a process of statistical hypothesis testing, the conclusion of "statistically significant or not statistically significant" is more appropriate than the conclusion of "significant or not significant." Also, in many studies, the significance level is set to 0.05 to compare with the significance probability value, p-value. If the p-value is less than 0.05, it is judged as "significant," and if the p-value is greater than 0.05, it is judged as "not significant." However, since the significance probability is a value set by the researcher according to the circumstances of each study, it does not necessarily have to be 0.05. In a statistical hypothesis test, the conclusion depends on the setting of the significance level value, so the researcher must carefully set the significance level value. In this study, the stages of statistical hypothesis testing were examined in detail, and the exact conclusions accordingly and the contents that should be considered carefully when interpreting them were mentioned with emphasis on statistical hypothesis testing and significance level. In 11 original articles published in the Journal of Lipid and Atherosclerosis in 2022, the interpretation of hypothesis testing and the contents of the described conclusions were reviewed from the perspective of statistical hypothesis testing and significance level, and the content that I would like to be supplemented was mentioned.

Fenofibrate add-on to statin treatment is associated with low all-cause death and cardiovascular disease in the general population with high triglyceride levels

BACKGROUND

We investigated the effects of fenofibrate add-on to statin treatment on all-cause death and cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the general population who had high triglyceride (TG).

METHODS

We performed a population-based cohort study using data from the Korea National Health Information Database for 2010 to 2017. Among participants who had already used statins and had TG ≥ 150 mg/dL, 277,836 fenofibrate users were identified and compared with 277,836 fenofibrate non-users with 1:1 age- and sex-adjusted matching.

RESULTS

During a mean 4.13-year follow-up, the incidences per 1000 person years of all-cause death and CVD were lower in fenofibrate users than in fenofibrate non-users (4.812 vs. 5.354 for all-cause death, P < 0.0001; 6.283 vs. 6.420 for CVD, P < 0.0001). The hazard ratios (HR) for all-cause death and CVD among fenofibrate users were 0.826 (95 % CI 0.795-0.858) and 0.929 (95 % CI 0.898-0.962), respectively. In addition, 73.35 % of participants did not have diabetes and fenofibrate showed consistently beneficial effects on all-cause death or CVD in patients with and without diabetes. Use of fenofibrate for more than one year was associated with low risk for both all-cause death (HR 0.618) and CVD (HR 0.853), but use of fenofibrate for less than one year was not.

CONCLUSIONS

Fenofibrate as an add-on to statin treatment was associated with low risk of all-cause death and CVD in general population who had high TG. These beneficial effects were consistent regardless of the presence of diabetes, but at least one year of fenofibrate use was needed.

Impact of Severe Hypercholesterolemia on Cardiovascular Risk in Individuals With or Without Diabetes Mellitus

Objective

The aim of the current study was to investigate whether the impact of low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) levels on cardiovascular risk is different between individuals with severe hypercholesterolemia and diabetes mellitus (DM) and those without DM.

Methods

This study used the database of a National Health Insurance Service cohort of Korea. Among individuals who underwent health check-up, 2,261,332 were included and categorized into 3 groups with severe hypercholesterolemia, >260, 225–259, and 190–224 mg/dL groups, and a control group (<160 mg/dL). Risks of composite events (myocardial infarction [MI], coronary revascularization, and ischemic stroke) and total mortality were analyzed, according to the presence of DM.

Results

Of the study population, 5.2% had DM. During median follow-up of 6.1 years, the rates of composite events (/1,000 person-year) in non-DM and DM subjects were up to 5.66 and 8.92, respectively. Adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) of the composite events ranged up to 3.11 and 1.44 in non-DM and DM groups, respectively (p<0.0001 between LDL-C categories in both groups). Dependency of aHR on LDL-C levels was more prominent in the non-DM group. aHRs of MI and coronary revascularization showed similar tendency to the composite events. Although aHRs of ischemic stroke (p<0.0001) and total mortality (p=0.002) were different according to LDL-C categories in the non-DM group, these relations were not observed in DM group.

Conclusion

Although individuals with severe hypercholesterolemia had high cardiovascular risk when DM was present, the impact of LDL-C on the risk was attenuated in this population.