Importance of Dyslipidemia Prevention and Management in Health Checkups

Abstract

 About 2,205,000 Japanese people have dyslipidemia, one of the most common disorders identified in health checkups. 12.9% of men and 22.4% of women have total cholesterol levels of 240 mg/dL or above. The guidelines for preventing atherosclerotic illnesses advocate managing dyslipidemia and other risk factors as the major therapeutic target. The 2022 Guidelines for the Prevention of Atherosclerotic Disease define hypertriglyceridemia as a fasting triglyceride level of 175 mg/dL or greater, highlighting the significance of monitoring triglycerides at all times. Based on the Hisayama-cho study, the score was also accepted. Ischemic heart disease and atherothrombotic stroke can be used as endpoints to estimate risk. LDL-C management targets in high-risk populations for atherosclerotic disorders were also altered. Diabetes with peripheral-arterial disease, microvascular disease, and smokers should have LDL-C levels below 100 mg/dL for secondary prevention of coronary artery disease and atherothrombotic stroke, acute coronary syndrome, familial hypercholesterolemia, and diabetes mellitus. Patients with acute coronary syndromes, familial hypercholesterolemia, diabetes, or both coronary artery disease and atherothrombotic stroke should have LDL-C below 70 mg/dL. Familial hypercholesterolemia has a high risk of coronary artery disease, although early identification and treatment are lacking. In recent years, new medications, diagnostic improvements, and epidemiological knowledge have made health checkups crucial for early detection and specialist referral. Lipid management for atherosclerotic disease prevention will be discussed in this section.