Publications by authors named "Iris Kindt"

A clinical decision support (CDS) tool for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) was developed to align health systems with clinical guidelines detailed in the MASH Clinical Care Pathway and improve patients' proactive self-management of their disease. The tool includes a provider-facing web-based application and a mobile application (app) for patients. This protocol outlines a pilot study that will systematically evaluate the implementation of the tool in real-world clinical practice settings.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background Homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HoFH) is a rare, treatment-resistant disorder characterized by early-onset atherosclerotic and aortic valvular cardiovascular disease if left untreated. Contemporary information on HoFH in the United States is lacking, and the extent of underdiagnosis and undertreatment is uncertain. Methods and Results Data were analyzed from 67 children and adults with clinically diagnosed HoFH from the CASCADE (Cascade Screening for Awareness and Detection) FH Registry.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is a common genetic disorder that significantly increases the risk of early heart disease but often goes undiagnosed and untreated due to lack of systematic screening methods and limited family testing.
  • This study aims to enhance FH identification through automated and genomic techniques, while also improving family communication methods to encourage cascade testing among at-risk individuals.
  • The research will create a comprehensive guide based on implementation science to evaluate the effectiveness and sustainability of these new identification and testing strategies to ultimately reduce underdiagnosis of FH.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: To describe enrollment characteristics of youth in the Cascade Screening for Awareness and Detection of FH Registry.

Study Design: This is a cross-sectional analysis of 493 participants aged <18 years with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia recruited from US lipid clinics (n = 20) between April 1, 2014, and January 12, 2018. At enrollment, some were new patients and some were already in care.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is the most common inherited form of high cholesterol that significantly increases the risk for coronary artery disease. Early detection and treatment can decrease morbidity and mortality and provide important risk information to family members. However, FH remains vastly underdiagnosed and undertreated.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Barriers to genetic testing and subsequent family cascade screening for familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) include cost, patient and provider awareness, privacy and discrimination concerns, need for a physician order, underutilization of genetic counselors, and family concerns about the implications of genetic testing for care.

Objectives: The objective of the study was to determine the uptake of genetic testing with cost and privacy removed.

Methods: The FH Foundation offered free genetic testing and counseling to patients in the patient portal of the CASCADE FH Registry, who had not previously undergone genetic testing for 3 genes associated with FH (LDLR, APOB, and PCSK9).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is a common Mendelian disorder characterized by elevated LDL cholesterol levels, which if untreated can cause premature heart disease. Less than 10% of cases in the United States are diagnosed. This study investigates decision-making factors associated with intentions to have FH genetic testing among patients clinically diagnosed with FH.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background And Aims: There are limited data from the US on outcomes of patients in specialty care for familial hypercholesterolemia (FH).

Methods: CASCADE FH Registry data were analyzed to assess longitudinal changes in medication usage, in low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels, and the rate of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE (myocardial infarction, coronary revascularization, stroke or transient ischemic attack) in adults with FH followed in US specialty clinics.

Results: The cohort consisted of 1900 individuals (61% women, 87% Caucasian), with mean age of 56 ± 15 years, 37% prevalence of ASCVD at enrollment, mean pretreatment LDL-C 249 ± 68 mg/dl, mean enrollment LDL-C 145 mg/dl and 93% taking lipid lowering therapy.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Although awareness of familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is increasing, this common, potentially fatal, treatable condition remains underdiagnosed. Despite FH being a genetic disorder, genetic testing is rarely used. The Familial Hypercholesterolemia Foundation convened an international expert panel to assess the utility of FH genetic testing.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background And Aims: Most familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) patients remain undertreated, and it is unclear what role health disparities may play for FH patients in the US. We sought to describe sex and racial/ethnic disparities in a national registry of US FH patients.

Methods: We analyzed data from 3167 adults enrolled in the CAscade SCreening for Awareness and DEtection of Familial Hypercholesterolemia (CASCADE-FH) registry.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose Of Review: To review how leveraging familial hypercholesterolemia registries can impact molecular genetic research and precision medicine.

Recent Findings: Familial hypercholesterolemia is both much more common and more phenotypically heterogeneous than previously thought with some evidence for significant genotype to phenotype correlations. Genetic testing for familial hypercholesterolemia is becoming both more widely available and cheaper, spurring conversations about its clinical utility.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: In the US familial hypercholesterolemia (FH), patients are underidentified, despite an estimated prevalence of 1:200 to 1:500. Criteria to identify FH patients include Simon Broome, Dutch Lipid Clinic Network (DLCN), or Make Early Diagnosis to Prevent Early Deaths (MEDPED). The use of these criteria in US clinical practices remains unclear.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Cardiovascular disease burden and treatment patterns among patients with familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) in the United States remain poorly described. In 2013, the FH Foundation launched the Cascade Screening for Awareness and Detection (CASCADE) of FH Registry to address this knowledge gap.

Methods And Results: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of 1295 adults with heterozygous FH enrolled in the CASCADE-FH Registry from 11 US lipid clinics.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Mutations in the low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) gene cause familial hypercholesterolemia (FH), a disorder characterized by coronary heart disease (CHD) at young age. We aimed to apply an extreme sampling method to enhance the statistical power to identify novel genetic risk variants for CHD in individuals with FH. We selected cases and controls with an extreme contrast in CHD risk from 17,000 FH patients from the Netherlands, whose functional LDLR mutation was unequivocally established.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Aims: Homozygous autosomal dominant hypercholesterolaemia (hoADH), an orphan disease caused by mutations in low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR), apolipoprotein B (APOB), or proprotein convertase subtilisin-kexin type 9 (PCSK9), is characterized by elevated plasma low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) levels and high risk for premature cardiovascular disease (CVD). The exact prevalence of molecularly defined hoADH is unknown. Therefore, we investigated the prevalence and phenotypical characteristics of this disease in an open society, i.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is a hereditary condition caused by various genetic mutations that lead to significantly elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels and resulting in a 20-fold increased lifetime risk for premature cardiovascular disease. Although its prevalence in the United States is 1 in 300 to 500 individuals, <10% of FH patients are formally diagnosed, and many are not appropriately treated. Contemporary data are needed to more fully characterize FH disease prevalence, treatment strategies, and patient experiences in the United States.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Some recently emerged lipid-lowering therapies are currently restricted to patients with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HoFH), and studies are underway to also assess these therapies in patients with 'severe heterozygous FH (HeFH)'. However, no uniform definition of 'severe HeFH' exists, although untreated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels above 8 mmol/L (309 mg/dl) have been historically used to define this phenotype. Our aim was to define severe HeFH, to establish its prevalence and CVD risk, and to study the relative contribution of classical risk factors to CVD risk in HeFH patients.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction. Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is an inherited disorder associated with a severely increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Although DNA test results in FH are associated with important medical and ethical consequences, data on accuracy of genetic tests is scarce.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of an individualised tailored lifestyle intervention on physical activity, dietary intake, smoking and compliance to statin therapy in people with Familial Hypercholesterolemia (FH).

Methods: Adults with FH (n = 340) were randomly assigned to a usual care control group or an intervention group. The intervention consisted of web-based tailored lifestyle advice and face-to-face counselling.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • * A total of 26,406 individuals were evaluated, finding that FH carriers had significantly higher mean LDL-C levels compared to unaffected relatives, with a baseline sensitivity of 68.5% for detecting FH.
  • * The study found that assessing individuals with severe FH mutations (class 1) greatly improved diagnostic accuracy, raising sensitivity to 91.3% due to less overlap in LDL-C levels.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: People with Familial Hypercholesterolemia (FH) may benefit from lifestyle changes supporting their primary treatment of dyslipidaemia. This project evaluated the efficacy of an individualised tailored lifestyle intervention on lipids (low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), total cholesterol (TC) and triglycerides), systolic blood pressure, glucose, body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference in people with FH.

Methods: Adults with FH (n = 340), recruited from a Dutch cascade screening program, were randomly assigned to either a control group or an intervention group.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Aims: A plethora of mutations in the LDL-receptor gene (LDLR) underlie the clinical phenotype of familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH). For the diagnosis of FH, it is important, however, to discriminate between pathogenic and non-pathogenic mutations. The aim of the current study was to assess whether true pathogenic mutations were indeed associated with the occurrence of coronary artery disease (CAD) when compared with non-functional variants.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • * A study involving 414 FH patients showed that unconditional acceptance rates for life insurance increased significantly after genetic diagnosis and the introduction of these guidelines, jumping from 71% to 86%.
  • * The results suggest that concerns about "DNA discrimination" affecting life insurance access are outdated and no longer applicable in The Netherlands, supporting the continuation of genetic testing for FH.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to evaluate the follow-up care of children diagnosed with familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) through a nationwide screening program in the Netherlands.
  • Researchers sent questionnaires to parents of FH patients (ages 0-18) to gather data on demographics, physician consultations, and treatment received 18 months post-diagnosis.
  • Findings showed that while many children consulted physicians, follow-up care was lacking, indicating a need for better education and structured support for families to manage cholesterol levels effectively.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • 15% of individuals diagnosed with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) do not have high low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels, prompting a study to evaluate their cardiovascular risk compared to those with elevated levels and unaffected individuals.
  • The study involved three groups: those with FH and low LDL-C, those with FH and high LDL-C, and those without FH, measuring carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) as an indicator of cardiovascular risk.
  • Results indicated that FH individuals with low LDL-C have a smaller mean carotid IMT similar to those without FH, suggesting that cardiovascular risk may primarily depend on LDL-C levels rather than just having the FH mutation, indicating less
View Article and Find Full Text PDF