LDL Cholesterol Reduction Following Ezetimibe Initiation

This clinical trial will study why some people have a larger drop in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), known as "bad cholesterol," after starting ezetimibe. Ezetimibe is a medicine used to lower cholesterol when current treatment is not enough. Adults aged 18 to 75 years who need additional cholesterol treatment will take ezetimibe, either alone or added to their usual stable medication. Researchers will examine whether diet, salt intake, physical activity, and personal health factors influence how much LDL-C levels fall after treatment. Participants will have blood tests before and after starting ezetimibe, complete diet and activity questionnaires, and provide a 24-hour urine sample. The goal is to help doctors better understand who benefits most from ezetimibe and improve personalized cholesterol treatment.

Inclusion criteria: * Age ≥18 and ≤75 years at the time of ezetimibe initiation; * Initiation of ezetimibe as monotherapy or, in patients already treated with statins or other LDL-C-lowering agents, provided that neither the compound nor the dose of the concomitant LDL-C-lowering therapy was modified at the time of ezetimibe initiation. Exclusion criteria: * Absence of indication for ezetimibe therapy as determined by the treating physician; * Initiation of ezetimibe with concomitant modification of statin or other LDL-C-lowering medication type or dosage; * Initiation of ezetimibe/statin combination therapy as the first lipid-lowering regimen.