Implications of the 2026 Dyslipidemia Guideline for Primary Prevention Statin Therapy.
New dyslipidemia guideline makes 13.9% more US adults eligible for statins.
Implications of the 2026 Dyslipidemia Guideline for Primary Prevention Statin Therapy.
To assess the population health impact of the 2026 guideline on primary prevention statin therapy.
DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Nationally representative, cross-sectional sample of nonpregnant adults aged 30 to 79 years without known atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2017 to 2023.
The weighted sample included 4366 NHANES participants representative of 154.5 million US adults (weighted mean age, 51 years; 52.0% female).
Of these, 5.5% (95% CI, 4.7%-6.6%) had untreated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol below 70 mg/dL, 17.8% (95% CI, 16.3%-19.5%) reported currently taking statins, and 8.6% (95% CI, 7.6%-9.8%) met criteria for statin eligibility independent of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk estimation based on a low-density lipoprotein cholesterol of 190 mg/dL or greater, diabetes, or chronic kidney disease.
The 2026 dyslipidemia guideline substantially expands the US population recommended for primary prevention statin therapy, predominantly in lower-risk individuals.