Abstract Body (Do not enter title and authors here): Background: Elevated lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] is a recognized genetic, independent, and causal risk driver for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). Less is known about how elevated Lp(a) affects downstream cardiovascular (CV)-related healthcare resource utilization (HCRU) and costs in patients with ASCVD.
Objective: To assess the association of Lp(a) levels with CV-related HCRU (hospitalizations, outpatient and emergency department [ED) visits), and CV-related costs for patients with ASCVD in a national-scale multi-insurance cohort.
Methods: Patients with ASCVD were pooled from US Medicare, commercial, and Medicaid health plans from 2017 to 2022. Lp(a) levels (mg/dL and nmol/L) were linked at the patient level with HealthVerity Lab Data. Elevated Lp(a) was defined as Lp(a)≥70mg/dL (≥ 175 nmol/L) and normal Lp(a) was defined as Lp(a)<30mg/dL (<75 nmol/L). Generalized linear models with log link negative binomial distribution (HCRU) and log link gamma distribution (costs) adjusted for age, sex, race, insurance type, comorbidities, statin use, and prior hospitalizations, measured the association of Lp(a) levels with the annualized rate of CV-related hospitalizations, ED visits, and outpatient visits (incidence rate ratio [IRR]) and CV-related costs (annualized cost ratio).
Results: A total of 180,240 ASCVD patients were identified with Lp(a) values. Median (IQR) Lp(a) was 14 mg/dL (4 mg/dL – 48 mg/dL) or 35 nmol/L (12 nmol/L – 114 nmol/L). Mean (SD) age was 68.6 (12.0) years with 49.9% being female; 72.8% of patients were from Medicare, followed by commercial (21.8%) and Medicaid (5.4%). Fully adjusted CV-related HCRU was significantly higher in those with elevated Lp(a) compared to normal Lp(a): inpatient hospitalizations (IRR=1.11), outpatient visits (IRR=1.11) and ED visits (IRR=1.06), all p <0.001 (IRR and 95% CI reported in Table 1). Patients with elevated Lp(a) had 14% higher CV-related annualized healthcare costs than patients with normal Lp(a) (p <0.001) with significantly higher CV-related HCRU beginning with Lp(a) levels >30 mg/dL (>75 nmol/L).
Conclusion: Elevated Lp(a) was significantly associated with greater CV-related HCRU and costs in patients with ASCVD.