• Erin D Michos and Roger S Blumenthal.
• Johns Hopkins Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Heart Disease, Division of Cardiology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 600 North Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA. edonnell@jhmi.edu
• J. Am. Coll. Cardiol. 2009 Mar 17; 53 (11): 931-5.

ObjectivesWe assessed the prevalence of low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) <130 mg/dl with elevated high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) in the National Health And Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), weighted to be representative of the general U.S. population.BackgroundRosuvastatin therapy in the JUPITER (Justification for the Use of Statins in Primary Prevention: An Intervention Trial Evaluating Rosuvastatin) study reduced cardiovascular events among older adults with LDL-C <130 mg/dl and hsCRP > or =2 mg/l.MethodsUsing 1999 to 2004 NHANES data, we categorized men age > or =50 years and women age > or =60 years by fasting LDL-C and hsCRP levels, excluding individuals with prevalent coronary heart disease, coronary heart disease equivalent (including diabetes), and other JUPITER exclusions.ResultsA total of 3.9 million men age > or =50 years and 2.6 million women age > or =60 years meeting JUPITER eligibility criteria had fasting LDL-C <130 mg/dl and hsCRP > or =2 mg/l. In addition, 6.7 million older adults with elevated hsCRP > or =2 mg/l have LDL-C levels that exceed their National Cholesterol Education Program goals.ConclusionsExtrapolating JUPITER eligibility to NHANES, an estimated 6.5 million additional adults could be potential candidates to initiate statin therapy.

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