The ACCORD Lipid Study: Fenofibrate Doesn't Help

Interventions that improve lipid profiles do not always improve patient outcomes. A common strategy in diabetic patients — who often have low HDL and elevated triglyceride levels — is to add fibrate therapy, despite mixed results in previous studies. In the government-funded ACCORD Lipid Study, researchers evaluated whether adding fenofibrate to statin therapy prevents adverse cardiovascular events in patients with type 2 diabetes.

More than 5000 diabetic adults (mean age, 62; 31% women; glycosylated hemoglobin, ≥7.5%; LDL cholesterol, 60–180 mg/dL; HDL cholesterol, <55 mg/dL for women and blacks and <50 mg/dL for all others) were enrolled. All participants received simvastatin and also were assigned to daily fenofibrate (160 mg) or placebo.…