1. Primary Prevention of Stroke is Strongly Correlated with Low-Density-Lipoprotein Cholesterol Reduction: A Meta-Regression Analysis.
- Author
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Ghosal, Samit and Seshadri, Krishna G
- Subjects
STROKE prevention ,STATINS (Cardiovascular agents) ,DRUG efficacy ,META-analysis ,SYSTEMATIC reviews ,HYPERCHOLESTEREMIA ,CONFERENCES & conventions ,DISEASE relapse ,EVALUATION - Abstract
Statins have become the cornerstone of therapy for both primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular (CV) and cerebrovascular diseases (CVD). Numerous studies and meta-analyses have documented these benefits independent of low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) lowering. There are discrepant reports regarding the dependence of the stroke benefits on the baseline LDL-C levels. The relevance of LDL-C reduction from baseline in the era of pleiotropic benefits needs further exploration, especially, while comparing the primary stroke cohort with the secondary stroke prevention cohort. This meta-regression analysis was conducted to assess the impact of the degree of LDL-C lowering from baseline and its impact on stroke (if any) as part of primary and secondary CVD reduction strategies. A database search was conducted using the Cochrane library to identify relevant citations. Analysis was conducted using RStudio (2022.07.1, Build 554). Step 1: Odds ratio was used as the effect size for the outcomes. Apart from the mean effect size estimate (random effects model) prediction interval (PI) was estimated to determine the generalizability of the outcomes. Step 2: A meta-regression was conducted to explore the contribution from LDL-C lowering (if any) on primary and secondary stroke prevention. A pooled population of 86,365 patients from 16 placebo controlled, randomized controlled trials were included for analysis. The Cochrane risk of bias was used to assess quality of the studies. There was a significant and but non-generalizable benefit of statins on stroke as a primary prevention strategy (OR:0.73, 95% CI 0.58-0.92), PI:0.42-1.28). The significant heterogeneity in the mean effect size (Q:12.12, df:7) was explained by LDL-C reduction from baseline (R2:99.99%). A 20% reduction in OR is expected for every 50 mg/dL reduction in LDL-C. In contrast the impact of statins on stroke as a secondary prevention strategy was significant, generalizable, and not dependent on LDL-C lowering (Figure 1). Primary prevention of stroke and with statins is dependent on LDL-C lowering in contrast to secondary stroke prevention. No [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2023
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