Suita Score; A Tool for Individual Absolute Coronary Risk Assessment and Lipid Target Levels Configuration

Abstract

 Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) is one of the leading causes of death in Japan. In order to prevent ASCVD, "Specific Health Checkups and Specific Health Guidance" was initiated in 2008, and "Comprehensive Risk Management Chart to Prevent ASCVD 2015 (Chart 2015)" was issued in 2015 by 12 Japanese medical societies and Japanese medical association.

 Many factors contribute to the initiation and progression of ASCVD; thus, even in the same age and gender, the absolute risk for ASCVD differs depending on the existence or the degree of these risk factors. Western countries have utilized risk engine to assess absolute ASCVD risk from before; in Japan, Japanese Atherosclerosis Society adopted "NIPPON DATA 80" as a risk engine for absolute risk assessment in 2012, which was utilized also in "Chart 2015". In 2017, "NIPPON DATA 80" was replaced by "Suita Score", a more adequate tool for current Japanese ASCVD situation than "NIPPON DATA 80".

 Health Check facilities have to allocate health examinees in three categories "Clinic Visit Encouragement", "Health Guidance" and "Follow up in the next year" depending on the test results. As for lipid data, it does not make sense to use the fixed values for all the examinees to allocate in the three categories, because the target lipid values differ according to the absolute risk of the examinee. On the other hand, all the data of health examinees are input in the database; thus, once the program was designed to calculate absolute risk in accordance with "Suita Score", it is easy to allocate the examinees in three categories. The present article overviews "Suita Score" in light of "Chart 2015" and other governmental recommendations, mentions the advantages when we adopt"Suita Score" in the health check, and also proposes TG screening values for the allocation of the examinees.