Elias Tsougos

Prof. Elias Tsougos

Hygeia Hospital, Athens, Attikí, Greece

Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

1Year (2026-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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9 July 2026 in Preprints.org
Verified
Preprint
Open access
PDF file
NPNikolaos Papadopoulos
Nikolaos Papadopoulos
JDJohn Doupis
John Doupis
TATheodoros Angelopoulos
Theodoros Angelopoulos
ETElias Tsougos
Elias Tsougos
MSManuel Suárez-Tembra
Manuel Suárez-Tembra
SNSophie De Niet
Sophie De Niet
Background: Given the increasing prevalence of dyslipidaemia and multimorbidity in the elderly population, the lack of safety data on combined statin–fenofibrate therapy in this age group represents a critical gap. The post hoc subgroup analysis of the Pose study addresses this issue. Materials and methods: The POSE study was a 3-year, real-world, observational, comparative, non-interventional study conducted in Europe. Patients with mixed dyslipidaemia treated either by a fixed-dose combination of pravastatin 40 mg/fenofibrate 160 mg or a moderate-intensity statin monotherapy were enrolled. Safety outcomes included the occurrence of renal or urinary disorders, musculoskeletal or connective tissue disorders, hepatobiliary disorders, cholelithiasis, thromboembolic events, pancreatitis, worsening diabetes mellitus, elevated blood homocysteine levels, interstitial pneumopathy, phototoxicity, and fatal or non-fatal cardiovascular events. Laboratory parameters related to lipid control and renal, muscular, and hepatic functions were additionally evaluated. The post hoc analysis focuses on the subgroup of patients aged 75 years and older. Results: A total of 458 patients were included in the analysis. The majority had hypertension (79.3%) and diabetes mellitus (55.0%). Over the 3-year study period, there was no difference in incidence rate of safety events between groups (RR = 2.18 [95% CI = 0.99–4.81]). Renal and urinary disorders were more frequent with the combination (5.5% vs 0.8%), whereas musculoskeletal disorders, aggravated diabetes mellitus, and cardiovascular events, showed no significant difference between groups, the 95% CI spanning 1. Globally, there were no significant differences regarding the evolution of hepatic, muscle and renal biological parameters. As expected, the pravastatin/fenofibrate combination achieved a more pronounced TG reduction and a modest increase in HDL-C, whereas the statin group showed more modest changes in these parameters. Conclusions: This real-life observational post hoc subgroup analysis suggests that in patients aged 75 years and older with mixed dyslipidaemia at high or very high CV risk, pravastatin 40 mg/fenofibrate 160 mg is well tolerated and can be used with acceptable long‑term safety. The combination offers additional TG lowering and HDL‑C improvement beyond moderate‑intensity statin monotherapy, without a significant increase in overall safety events over three years. The study confirms the positive benefit / risk balance of the fixed-dose combination of pravastatin 40 mg/fenofibrate 160 mg in this growing population of patients aged 75 years and older.

16 September 2026 in Geriatrics
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
NPNikolaos Papadopoulos
Nikolaos Papadopoulos
JDJohn Doupis
John Doupis
TATheodoros Angelopoulos
Theodoros Angelopoulos
ETElias Tsougos
Elias Tsougos
MSManuel Suárez-Tembra
Manuel Suárez-Tembra
SNSophie De Niet
Sophie De Niet
Background: Given the increasing prevalence of dyslipidemia and multimorbidity in the older patient population, the lack of safety data on combined statin–fenofibrate therapy in this age group represents a critical gap. The post hoc subgroup analysis of the POSE study addresses this issue. Materials and Methods: The POSE study was a 3-year, real-world, observational, comparative, non-interventional study conducted in Europe. Patients with mixed dyslipidemia treated either by a fixed-dose combination of pravastatin 40 mg/fenofibrate 160 mg or a moderate-intensity statin monotherapy were enrolled. Safety outcomes included the occurrence of renal or urinary disorders, musculoskeletal or connective tissue disorders, hepatobiliary disorders, cholelithiasis, thromboembolic events, pancreatitis, worsening diabetes mellitus, elevated blood homocysteine levels, interstitial pneumopathy, phototoxicity, and fatal or non-fatal cardiovascular events. Laboratory parameters related to lipid control and renal, muscular, and hepatic functions were additionally evaluated. The post hoc analysis focused on a subgroup of patients aged 75 years and older. Results: A total of 458 patients were included in the analysis. The majority had hypertension (79.3%) and diabetes mellitus (55.0%). Over the 3-year study period, the incidence rate of composite safety events was numerically higher with the combination, though this did not reach statistical significance (RR = 2.18 [95% CI = 0.99–4.81]). Renal and urinary disorders were more frequent with the combination (5.5% vs. 0.8%), whereas musculoskeletal disorders, aggravated diabetes mellitus, and cardiovascular events showed no significant difference between groups, as the 95% confidence interval included 1. Globally, there were no significant differences regarding evolution of the hepatic, muscle, and renal biological parameters. From baseline to Year 3, TG levels decreased by 44.3% with pravastatin/fenofibrate and by 10.7% with statin monotherapy, while HDL-C levels increased by 26.5% and 0.4%, respectively. Conclusions: This real-life observational post hoc subgroup analysis suggests that in patients aged 75 years and older with mixed dyslipidemia at high or very high CV risk, pravastatin 40 mg/fenofibrate 160 mg demonstrates an acceptable long-term safety profile. The combination offers additional TG lowering and HDL-C improvement beyond moderate-intensity statin monotherapy, without a significant increase in overall safety events over three years.