Table.
Mean cholesterol reduction and non-illness mortality in randomised clinical trials of cholesterol reduction
| Trial (year published) | Primary or secondary prevention | Treatment | No of subjects randomised
|
Median follow up (years) | Mean cholesterol reduction (%)* | Non-illness mortality
|
Odds ratio† (95%CI) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Treated | Control | Treated | Control | |||||||
| Los Angeles Veterans Administration study (1969)‡ | Primary | Diet | 424 | 422 | 8.0 | 12.7 | 4 | 0 | — | |
| World Health Organization cooperative trial (1978)§ | Primary | Clofibrate | 5331 | 5296 | 5.3 | 9.0 | 24 | 25 | 0.95 (0.54 to 1.67) | |
| Colestipol-Upjohn study (1978)¶ | Primary | Colestipol | 548 | 546 | 1.9 | 9.6 | 2 | 0 | — | |
| Lipid Research Clinics coronary primary prevention trial (1984) | Primary | Choletyramine | 1906 | 1900 | 7.4 | 8.5 | 11 | 4 | 2.75 (0.92 to 8.26) | |
| Helsinki heart study (1987) | Primary | Gemfibrozil | 2051 | 2030 | 5.0 | 9.6 | 10 | 4 | 2.48 (0.81 to 7.63) | |
| Minnesota coronary study (1989) | Primary | Diet | 4541 | 4516 | 1.1 | 13.6 | 33 | 28 | 1.17 (0.71 to 1.94) | |
| West of Scotland coronary prevention study (1995) | Primary | Pravastatin | 3302 | 3293 | 4.9 | 20.0 | 5 | 6 | 0.83 (0.25 to 2.72) | |
| Air Force/Texas coronary atherosclerosis prevention study (1998) | Primary | Lovastatin | 3304 | 3301 | 5.2 | 19.3 | 1 | 3 | 0.33 (0.04 to 2.87) | |
| Oslo diet-heart study (1966)** | Secondary | Diet | 206 | 206 | 5.0 | 13.9 | 0 | 0 | — | |
| MRC soybean oil trial (1968) | Secondary | Diet | 199 | 194 | 4.0 | 16 | 0 | 0 | — | |
| Scottish Society of Physicians clofibrate trial (1971)** | Secondary | Clofibrate | 350 | 367 | 1.7 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 1.05 (0.07 to 16.86) | |
| Coronary drug project (niacin, clofibrate) (1975) | Secondary | Niacin, clofibrate | 1119, 1103 | 2789 | 6.2 | 9.9, 6.5 | 8, 5 | 15 | 1.09 (0.52 to 2.29) | |
| Stockholm ischaemic heart disease study (1988)** | Secondary | Clofibrate and niacin | 279 | 276 | 5.0 | 13 | 1 | 0 | — | |
| Diet and reinfarction trial (1989)** | Secondary | Diet | 1018 | 1015 | 2.0 | 3.5 | 1 | 1 | 1.00 (0.06 to 15.97) | |
| Partial ileal bypass surgery (1990) | Secondary | Surgery | 421 | 417 | 9.7 | 23.3 | 3 | 3 | 0.99 (0.2 to 4.94) | |
| Helsinki heart study—ancillary study (1993) | Secondary | Gemfibrozil | 311 | 317 | 5.0 | 8.5 | 1 | 1 | 1.02 (0.06 to 16.41) | |
| Scandinavian simvastatin survival study (1994) | Secondary | Simvastatin | 2221 | 2223 | 5.4 | 26 | 6 | 7 | 0.86 (0.29 to 2.55) | |
| Cholesterol and recurrent events trial (1996) | Secondary | Pravastatin | 2081 | 2078 | 5.0 | 20 | 8 | 4 | 2.00 (0.62 to 6.50) | |
| Long term intervention with pravastatin in ischaemic disease (1998) | Secondary | Pravastatin | 4512 | 4502 | 6.1 | 18 | 6 | 11 | 0.54 (0.2 to 1.45) | |
*
Change in cholesterol concentration in intervention group during trial relative to control group.
†
Not reported for trials with zero deaths in either the treatment or control group.
‡
Data on non-illness mortality available for years 6-8 only: 318 intervention and 317 control subjects during that time.
§
Mortality data by “intention to treat” reported in 1992.23
¶
Only data for men available for inclusion in analyses.
**
Unpublished non-illness mortality data obtained from trial investigators in early 2000.