Standard statin doses fine for South Asians in US, Canada

Last Updated: 2007-07-11 17:55:11 -0400 (Reuters Health)

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Both rosuvastatin and atorvastatin in 10 or 20 mg doses appear to be appropriate for reaching LDL cholesterol goals in North Americans of South Asian origin, according to researchers.

"South Asians are at significantly increased risk of heart disease compared to Caucasians or other minorities living in the USA," lead investigator Dr. Prakash C. Deedwania told Reuters Health. "South Asians are genetically different," he added, "and it has been previously reported that other Asian subjects require a lower dose of certain statins."

To investigate further, Dr. Deedwania of UCSF School of Medicine, San Francisco, and colleagues, studied 740 hypercholesterolemic patients of self-described South-Asian origin in the US and Canada, and report their findings in the June issue of the American Journal of Cardiology.

Of this group, 485 patients were categorized as being at high risk of coronary heart disease and the treatment goal was to reach LDL cholesterol levels of below 100 mg/dL.

All patients received 6 weeks of treatment with rosuvastatin 10 or 20 mg or atorvastatin 10 or 20 mg.

In high-risk patients, LDL cholesterol decreased by 45% with rosuvastatin 10 mg and 40% with atorvastatin 10 mg. It fell by 50% with rosuvastatin 20 mg and by 47% with atorvastatin 20 mg.

The authors report that 76% of high-risk patients reached LDL goals with rosuvastatin 10 mg and 88% did so with 20 mg. Corresponding proportions with atorvastatin were 70% and 81%. Results were comparable when all patients were considered.

Therapy was well tolerated. Dr. Deedwania concluded that he and his colleagues "examined two of the most popular statins in South Asians and found similar efficacy of both in lowering LDL cholesterol."

Am J Cardiol 2007;99:1538-1543.