The lipid story in chronic kidney disease: a long story with a happy end?

Abstract

Cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality increase with the severity of kidney disease, reaching 30 times higher mortality rates in dialysis patients compared with the general population. Although dyslipidemia is a well-established CV risk factor in the general population, the relationship between lipid disorders and CV risk in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) is less clear. Despite the clear evidence that statins reduce the risk of atherosclerotic events and death from cardiac causes in individuals without CKD, the use of statins in patients with kidney disease is significantly less frequent. For a long time, one of the explanations was the lack of a prospective, randomized, controlled study designed specifically to CKD patients. After recent publication of the data from Study of Heart and Renal Protection trial, given the safety and potential efficacy of statins, this lipid-lowering treatment should be administered more frequently to individuals with CKD stage 1-4, as well as those undergoing dialysis.