Context: The diagnosis of familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) can be made using the Dutch Lipid Clinic Network criteria. This employs the personal and family history of premature coronary artery disease and hypercholesterolemia and the presence of a pathogenic mutation in the low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) and apolipoprotein B (APOB) genes.
Objective: We employed this tool to investigate the prevalence of FH and the associations between FH and coronary artery disease and cholesterol-lowering medication in the Copenhagen General Population Study.
Setting: The study was of an unselected, community-based population comprising 69,016 participants.
Main outcome measures: FH (definite/probable) was defined as a Dutch Lipid Clinic Network score higher than 5. Coronary artery disease was myocardial infarction or angina pectoris.
Results: The prevalence of FH was 0.73% (one in 137). Of participants with FH, 20% had an LDLR or APOB mutation. The prevalence of coronary artery disease among FH participants was 33%. Only 48% of subjects with FH admitted to taking cholesterol-lowering medication. The odds ratio for coronary artery disease off cholesterol-lowering medication was 13.2 (10.0-17.4) in definite/probable FH compared with non-FH subjects, after adjusting for age, gender, body mass index, hypertension, metabolic syndrome and diabetes, and smoking. The corresponding adjusted odds ratio for coronary artery disease in FH subjects on cholesterol-lowering medication was 10.3 (7.8-13.8).
Conclusion: The prevalence of FH appears to be higher than commonly perceived in a general population of white Danish individuals, with at least half of affected subjects not receiving cholesterol-lowering medication. The very high risk of coronary artery disease irrespective of use of medication reflects the extent of underdiagnosis and undertreatment of FH in the community and primary care.