To what extent do patients in general practice reach guideline lipid-lowering treatment goals?

Background We assessed the extent to which the 1998 European guideline goals were reached among patients on statin treatment Design A cross-sectional study. Methods A total of 683 consecutive patients on statin treatment were recruited from 48 primary healthcare centres all over Sweden. Serum lipid levels and possible goal-reaching determinants were registered. Results The treatment goal for total cholesterol was met in 55% of patients and for low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in 60% of patients. Male sex and a history of diabetes mellitus or cardiovascular disease increased the likelihood of meeting treatment goals. Conclusions More than half of statin-treated Swedish primary care patients reached the treatment goals.