Secondary prevention care and effect: Total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels and lipid-lowering drug use in women and men after incident myocardial infarction – The Tromsø Study 1994–2016

Background: Secondary prevention guidelines after myocardial infarction (MI) are gender neutral, but underutilisation of treatment in women has been reported. Design: We investigated the change in total and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels and lipid-lowering drug (LLD) use after first-ever MI in a population-based study. Methods: We followed 10,005 participants (54% women) attending the Tromsø Study 1994–1995 and 8483 participants (55% women) attending the Tromsø Study 2007–2008 for first-ever MI up to their participation in 2007–2008 and 2015–2016, respectively. We used linear and logistic regression models to investigate sex differences in change in lipid levels. Results: A total of 395 (MI cohort I) and 132 participants (MI cohort II) had a first-ever MI during 1994–2008 and 2007–2013, respectively. Mean change in total cholesterol was −2.34 mmol/L (SD 1.15) in MI cohort I, and in LDL cholesterol was −1.63 mmol/L (SD 1.12) in MI cohort II. Men had a larger decrease in lipid levels compared to women: the linear regression coefficient for change was −0.33 (95% confidence interval [CI] −0.51 to −0.14) for total cholesterol and −0.21 (95% CI −0.37 to −0.04) for LDL cholesterol, adjusted for baseline lipid value, age and cohort. Men had 73% higher odds (95% CI 1.15−2.61) of treatment target achievement compared to women, adjusted for baseline lipid value, age and cohort. LLD use was reported in 85% of women and 92% of men in MI cohort I, and 80% in women and 89% in men in MI cohort II. Conclusions: Compared to men, women had significantly less decrease in lipid levels after MI, and a smaller proportion of women achieved the treatment target.