Cost effectiveness of cholesterol-lowering therapy in The Netherlands. Simvastatin versus cholestyramine.

Using a model of coronary heart disease incidence based on multivariate logistic regression functions from the Framingham Heart Study, the cost effectiveness of simvastatin was compared with that of cholestyramine in preventing such disease. For men with initial cholesterol levels of 310 mg/dl, the cost effectiveness of cholestyramine, expressed in Dutch guilders, ranges from approximately 220,000 to 510,000 guilders per year of life saved, depending on age at initiation of therapy. For simvastatin, cost-effectiveness ratios range from 50,000 to 110,000 guilders per year of life saved among this group of men. Results are similar for women, although the cost effectiveness of both agents is considerably less. These results suggest that simvastatin is substantially more cost effective than cholestyramine; that it compares well with other generally accepted medical practices, especially if therapy is initiated at an early age; and that simvastatin should become accepted as a drug of first choice in the treatment of persons with elevated serum cholesterol levels as its long-term safety record becomes more established.