In medicine, there's often tradeoff between health and cost. GLP-1s are an obvious example, costing $10,000 per year but saving lives.
This study shows an exception to that rule -- testing Lp(a), the strongest hereditary biomarker of heart disease risk.
This study simulated the effects of wide-spread Lp(a) testing on a sample of 10,000 patients in two countries (UK and Australia). They found 1,807 people would have had modified treatment, gaining 217-255 quality-adjusted life years. (Quality-adjusted life years are used by the NHS in the UK to make policy decisions.)
Furthermore, they found there would be an overall cost savings, since Lp(a) testing itself is cheap and it prevents heart attacks and strokes (which are expensive to treat).
It's really rare in medicine to find an "obvious win" like this.
brandonb•2h ago
This study shows an exception to that rule -- testing Lp(a), the strongest hereditary biomarker of heart disease risk.
This study simulated the effects of wide-spread Lp(a) testing on a sample of 10,000 patients in two countries (UK and Australia). They found 1,807 people would have had modified treatment, gaining 217-255 quality-adjusted life years. (Quality-adjusted life years are used by the NHS in the UK to make policy decisions.)
Furthermore, they found there would be an overall cost savings, since Lp(a) testing itself is cheap and it prevents heart attacks and strokes (which are expensive to treat).
It's really rare in medicine to find an "obvious win" like this.