(Reuters Health) – Many patients with dangerously high cholesterol don’t take statins, a U.S. study suggests.
Statins were being taken by just 52% of adults with familial hypercholesterolemia. And only 38% of adults with non-genetic severe dyslipidemia took statins.
“All of these adults should be on a statin,” lead study author Dr. Emily Bucholz of Boston Children’s Hospital said by email.
Dr. Bucholz and colleagues examined survey data collected from 1999 to 2014 from U.S. adults age 20 and over.
Overall, about 6.6% had familial hypercholesterolemia, the researchers reported March 26 in Circulation.
Older adults, people with insurance, and patients diagnosed with high blood pressure or diabetes were more likely to take statins for dangerously elevated cholesterol or a family genetic risk for the condition, the study found.
Statin use did increase among high-risk patients during the study period.
The proportion of people with severely elevated cholesterol taking statins increased from 29% to 48% during the study, mirroring an overall trend for statin use in the general population.
Young people, and patients without insurance or a regular source of care, were less likely to take statins.
Only about 30% of patients took high-intensity statins.
One limitation of the study is that researchers lacked data to see whether patients failed to take statins that were prescribed or if doctors didn’t give prescriptions, the authors note. Some patients might have tried statins and stopped using the drugs because of side effects like muscle aches.
“This study highlights a need for further study of the reasons for the mismatch between dyslipidemia screening and treatment,” said Dr. Ian Kronish, of the Center for Behavioral Cardiovascular Health at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City.
“We need a better understanding as to whether the low rates of treatment are being driven by clinical inertia – that is, providers are not recommending statins in eligible patients, or whether low treatment is due to patient disagreement or non-adherence to treatment recommendations,” Kronish, who wasn’t involved in the study, said by email.
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/2pGYnLd
Circulation 2018.
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