The use of the non-fasting lipid profile for lipid-lowering therapy in clinical practice - point of view.

Current guidelines for the management of dyslipidaemias recommend measuring lipid profiles in the fasting state. The primary lipid targets are traditionally plasma total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) levels. However, triglycerides, apolipoprotein (apo) B and non-high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (non-HDL-C) are also suitable parameters to assess cardiovascular risk and to guide lipid-lowering therapy. The advantage of the use of these variables is that they can be used in both the fasting and non-fasting state. In most cases, postprandial lipid profiles in combination with apo B are as useful as fasting lipid profiles for the differentiation between familial lipid disorders, such as heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia, familial combined hyperlipidemia and familial hypertriglyceridemia. This article will address the interpretation, applications and limitations of a non-fasting lipid profile for daily clinical practice.