Overview
This clinical trial will study why some people have a larger drop in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), known as "bad cholesterol," after starting ezetimibe. Ezetimibe is a medicine used to lower cholesterol when current treatment is not enough. Adults aged 18 to 75 years who need additional cholesterol treatment will take ezetimibe, either alone or added to their usual stable medication. Researchers will examine whether diet, salt intake, physical activity, and personal health factors influence how much LDL-C levels fall after treatment. Participants will have blood tests before and after starting ezetimibe, complete diet and activity questionnaires, and provide a 24-hour urine sample. The goal is to help doctors better understand who benefits most from ezetimibe and improve personalized cholesterol treatment.
Description
Reduction of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) is a central strategy for cardiovascular risk reduction. Although ezetimibe provides additional LDL-C lowering when added to background therapy, substantial interindividual variability in treatment response has been observed. Determinants of this variability, particularly modifiable lifestyle factors, remain insufficiently defined. This prospective, single-centre, open-label, pragmatic interventional study is conducted in routine clinical practice to identify baseline clinical and lifestyle predictors of lipid response following ezetimibe initiation. Adults with a clinical indication for ezetimibe will initiate treatment at the approved standard dose, either as monotherapy or added to stable background lipid-lowering therapy. Baseline assessments will include demographic and clinical characteristics, comorbidities, concomitant medications, and laboratory parameters. Dietary intake will be assessed using a validated food frequency questionnaire and objective 24-hour urinary measurements of sodium, potassium, and urea. Physical activity will be evaluated using a validated questionnaire. Lipid parameters will be reassessed after treatment initiation to determine percentage change in LDL-C, non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and apolipoprotein B. Multivariable regression analyses will be performed to identify independent predictors of lipid response. The results may inform personalized lipid-lowering strategies and improve selection of patients most likely to benefit from ezetimibe therapy in real-world clinical settings.
Eligibility
Inclusion criteria:
- Age ≥18 and ≤75 years at the time of ezetimibe initiation;
- Initiation of ezetimibe as monotherapy or, in patients already treated with statins or other LDL-C-lowering agents, provided that neither the compound nor the dose of the concomitant LDL-C-lowering therapy was modified at the time of ezetimibe initiation.
Exclusion criteria:
- Absence of indication for ezetimibe therapy as determined by the treating physician;
- Initiation of ezetimibe with concomitant modification of statin or other LDL-C-lowering medication type or dosage;
- Initiation of ezetimibe/statin combination therapy as the first lipid-lowering regimen.
