Compliance with general population guidelines for hyperlipidemia screening in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) was poor and did not differ from the general population, despite a higher risk of cardiovascular diseases, a recent study found. Researchers conducted a longitudinal study of a population-based RA cohort between 1996 and 2006, followed up until 2010, with matched general population controls. Analyses included 5,587 individuals with RA and 5,613 controls, contributing 6,993 and 7,208 5-year eligibility periods, respectively. Using administrative data, they measured compliance with general population guidelines (testing lipids every 5 years for women ≥50 years and men ≥40 years), after excluding individuals with previous diabetes, coronary artery disease, or hyperlipidemia. Compliance was measured as the proportion of 5-year eligibility periods with ≥1 lipid test. They found:

• Lipids were measured in 56.6 and 59.5% of eligibility periods in RA and controls, respectively.
• Screening improved over time in RA relative to the general population, but remained suboptimal even after 2003, at 65.8%.
• Mean (SD) compliance rate per patient was 56.6% (47.2%) for RA and 59.5% (46.6%) for controls.
• Family physicians ordered almost all the lipid tests.