Recent publications on Residual Risk

Results from this study indicate economic benefit from treating diabetic patients with combination lipid therapy targeting both elevated cholesterol and elevated triglycerides compared with statin monotherapy. The researchers used data from an observational cohort study of 184,932 patients with diabetes mellitus with 2 triglycerides measurements (between January 2012 and June 2013, with a follow-up measurement 3 to 15 months later) to identify 4 therapy groups: statin monotherapy, triglyceride-specific monotherapy, statin/triglyceride-specific combination therapy, or no therapy. These groups were stratified by percent change in triglycerides (increase ?5%, ?4.9%, decrease 5% to 29%, or decrease ?30%). After adjustment for covariates, the greatest cost reduction was seen among patients on statin/triglyceride-specific combination therapy who had ?30% reduction in triglycerides (decrease by $2,859). Therefore, not only is there clinical evidence for targeting elevated triglycerides, in addition to high cholesterol, but these findings also provide an economic rationale for the benefits of this approach.