Gaps in the Care of Subjects with Familial Hypercholesterolemia: Insights from the Thai Familial Hypercholesterolemia Registry.

AIMS: Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is currently underdiagnosed and undertreated. The establishment of a FH registry could facilitate a deeper understanding of this disease. We described the clinical characteristics of subjects with FH from the Thai FH Registry, compared our data with the regional and global data, and identified gaps in the care of these subjects. METHODS: A multicenter, nationwide prospective FH registry was established in Thailand. Our data were compared with those of the European Atherosclerosis Society-FH Studies Collaboration. Multiple logistic regression analyses were performed for variables associated with lipid-lowering medication (LLM) use and the attainment of low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) goal. RESULTS: The study includes 472 subjects with FH (mean age at FH diagnosis: 46±12 years, 61.4% women). A history of premature coronary artery disease was found in 12%. The percentage of LLM use in subjects with a Dutch Lipid Clinic Network score of ≥ 6 (probable or definite FH) in our registry (64%) was slightly lower than the regional data but higher than the global data. Among those who received statins, 25.2% and 6.4% achieved LDL-C levels of ＜100 mg/dL and ＜70 mg/dL, respectively. Women with FH were less likely to achieve LDL-C ＜70 mg/dL (adjusted odds ratio: 0.22, 95% confidence interval: 0.06-0.71, p=0.012). CONCLUSIONS: FH in Thailand was diagnosed late, and treatment was inadequate for the majority of subjects. Women with FH were less likely to achieve LDL-C goals. Our insights could potentially help raise awareness and narrow the gap in patient care.

Association of Hematological Parameters with Clustered Components of Metabolic Syndrome among Professional and Office Workers in Bangkok, Thailand.

BACKGROUND: Accumulating evidence documents associations between alterations in hematological parameters, indicative of prothrombotic and proinflammatory states, and risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS). We investigated associations of hematological parameters with MetS and individual criteria of the syndrome among Thai professional and office workers. METHODS: Study subjects were 1,314 patients (531 men and 783 women) who participated in annual health examinations during the period of August through December 2001. MetS was defined using the modified ATP III criteria. Multivariable logistic regression procedures were used to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) of MetS risk according to quartiles of each hematological parameter with the lowest quartile specified as the referent group. RESULTS: WBC counts increased with increasing numbers of MetS components in both men and women. Among women, platelet counts, hemoglobin and hematocrit concentrations increased with increasing numbers of MetS components (p<0.05). No similar trends were observed for men. Of the hematological parameters studied, elevated platelet and WBC were statistically significantly associated with MetS among men (OR=1.86, 95% CI: 1.03-3.36; OR=2.26, 95% CI: 1.27-4.02), respectively. Among women, MetS risk increased across successive quartiles of hemoglobin (1.00, 2.63, 3.59 and 4.36; p for trend = 0.002), hematocrit (1.00, 2.35, 3.04 and 5.70; p-for trend <0.001), platelet (1.00, 2.37, 2.83 and 3.11; p-for trend = 0.014) and WBC counts (1.00, 2.97, 4.09 and 5.41; p-for trend < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Our data are consistent with an emerging literature demonstrating altered hematological status in patients at high risk of MetS.