Talk to the Veterans Crisis Line now
U.S. flag
An official website of the United States government
Veterans Benefits and Health Care About VA Find a VA Location

VA Health Systems Research

Go to the VA ORD website
Go to the QUERI website

HSR Citation Abstract

Search | Search by Center | Search by Source | Keywords in Title

Temporal trends in lipoprotein(a) testing among United States veterans from 2014 to 2023.

Gomez SE, Furst A, Chen T, Din N, Maron DJ, Heidenreich P, Kalwani N, Nallamshetty S, Ward JH, Lozama A, Sandhu A, Rodriguez F. Temporal trends in lipoprotein(a) testing among United States veterans from 2014 to 2023. American journal of preventive cardiology. 2024 Dec 1; 20:100872.

Dimensions for VA is a web-based tool available to VA staff that enables detailed searches of published research and research projects.

If you have VA-Intranet access, click here for more information vaww.hsrd.research.va.gov/dimensions/

VA staff not currently on the VA network can access Dimensions by registering for an account using their VA email address.    Search Dimensions for VA for this citation
* Don't have VA-internal network access or a VA email address? Try searching the free-to-the-public version of Dimensions


Abstract:

OBJECTIVE: Lipoprotein (a) [Lp(a)] is a causal, genetically-inherited risk amplifier for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). Practice guidelines increasingly recommend broad Lp(a) screening among various populations to optimize preventive care. Corresponding changes in testing rates and population-level detection of elevated Lp(a) in recent years has not been well described. METHODS: Using Veterans Affairs electronic health record data, we performed a retrospective cohort study evaluating temporal trends in Lp(a) testing and detection of elevated Lp(a) levels (defined as greater than 50 mg/dL) from January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2023 among United States Veterans without prior Lp(a) testing. Testing rates were stratified based on demographic and clinical factors to investigate possible drivers for and disparities in testing: age, sex, race and ethnicity, history of ASCVD, and neighborhood social vulnerability. RESULTS: Lp(a) testing increased nationally from 1 test per 10,000 eligible Veterans (558 tests) in 2014 to 9 tests per 10,000 (4,440 tests) in 2023, while the proportion of elevated Lp(a) levels remained stable. Factors associated with higher likelihood of Lp(a) testing over time were a history of ASCVD, Asian race, and residing in neighborhoods with less social vulnerability. CONCLUSION: Despite a 9-fold increase in Lp(a) testing among US Veterans over the last decade, the overall testing rate remains extremely low. The steady proportion of Veterans with elevated Lp(a) over time supports the clinical utility of testing expansion. Efforts to increase testing, especially among Veterans living in neighborhoods with high social vulnerability, will be important to reduce emerging disparities as novel therapeutics to target Lp(a) become available.




Questions about the HSR website? Email the Web Team

Any health information on this website is strictly for informational purposes and is not intended as medical advice. It should not be used to diagnose or treat any condition.