TABLE 1.
Baseline characteristics of study participants.
| Placebo | Ezetimibe | Nutraceutical | Combination | P-value | |
| Number | 13 | 13 | 8 | 10 | |
| Sex (male/female) | 6/7 | 8/5 | 4/4 | 3/7 | 0.516 |
| Age (years) | 61.8 ± 2.9 | 61.8 ± 2.0 | 62.2 ± 3.8 | 62.8 ± 3.3 | 0.994 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 27.6 ± 1.0 | 27.8 ± 1.1 | 30.3 ± 1.4 | 29.5 ± 1.1 | 0.311 |
| BMI > 28 kg/m2 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 0.515 |
| Blood pressure (mmHg) | 134/75 | 135/78 | 136/70 | 136/74 | 0.288 |
| Hypertension | 4 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 0.293 |
| On anti-hypertensive medication | 4 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 0.274 |
| Total cholesterol (mmol/L) | 7.15 ± 0.38 | 7.12 ± 0.24 | 6.66 ± .033 | 7.18 ± 0.33 | 0.672 |
| LDL-c (mmol/L) | 4.86 ± 0.32 | 4.89 ± 0.25 | 4.41 ± 0.24 | 5.01 ± 0.31 | 0.475 |
| Non-HDL-c (mmol/L) | 5.77 ± 0.40 | 5.75 ± 0.27 | 5.36 ± 0.38 | 5.94 ± 0.34 | 0.769 |
| REM-c (mmol/L) | 0.91 ± 0.15 | 0.85 ± 0.13 | 0.93 ± 0.13 | 0.86 ± 0.08 | 0.975 |
| Triglycerides (mmol/L) | 2.08 ± 0.36 | 1.87 ± 0.28 | 2.19 ± 0.27 | 1.77 ± 0.15 | 0.745 |
| HDL-c (mmol/L) | 1.39 ± 0.11 | 1.38 ± 0.08 | 1.24 ± 0.13 | 1.37 ± 0.10 | 0.756 |
| Common hypercholesterolemia | 7 | 9 | 3 | 7 | 0.646 |
| Combined hyperlipidemia | 4 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 0.643 |
| Familial hypercholesterolemia | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.691 |
| Previous CAD | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0.930 |
| Elevated CAC score | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0.341 |
| PCI | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.341 |
| CABG | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.341 |
| Atrial fibrillation | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.362 |
| Aspirin (%) | 5 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 0.928 |
| Anti-platelet therapy (%) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.203 |
| Type 2 diabetes mellitus | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.789 |
| Medication for diabetes | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.760 |
Mean ± SEM. CACS, previously documented coronary artery calcium score, 60–395. BMI, body mass index; CABG, coronary artery bypass graft; CAC, coronary artery calcium; CAD, coronary artery disease; HDL-c, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol; LDL-c, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol; PCI, percutaneous coronary intervention; REM-c, remnant cholesterol.