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Sheila Franco, National Center for Health Statistics, 3311 Toledo Road, OAEHP Room 6205, Hyattsville, MD 20782, 3014584331, sfranco@cdc.gov
Introduction: Elevated serum cholesterol is a major risk factor for heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States. If lifestyle modifications are not effective at reducing cholesterol levels, then drug therapy is warranted. New guidelines issued in 2001 almost tripled the number of Americans who are candidates for cholesterol-lowering drugs. While there are four classes of cholesterol-lowering drugs, statin drugs are the drug class of choice for cholesterol-lowering drug therapy because they are effective and well tolerated. In 2001, more than 90% of ambulatory care visits where cholesterol-lowering drugs were recorded included a statin. Statin therapy has been demonstrated to significantly reduce the risk of coronary events for both men and women with elevated cholesterol levels. This study examines the use of statin drugs by age, sex, race/ethnicity, and selected diagnoses. Methods: Data sources used are the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) and the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS). NAMCS and NHAMCS include nationally representative data on drugs provided during visits to office-based physicians’ practices and hospital outpatient departments. Logistic regression to estimate the odds of statin use and bivariate analysis are used. Results: Between 1960-62 and 1999-2000, the percent of adults age 20 to 74 with high cholesterol has decreased from 33% to 18%, in part due to an increase in drug therapy. The rate of statin use in ambulatory care visits has tripled from 1995-96 to 2001 among those aged 45 and older. Among persons 45 and over, use is higher among men than women. Results of logistic regression among adults aged 45 and over indicate that women were less likely to receive statin therapy than men, after controlling for the effects of age, sex, race/ethnicity, and a diagnosis of heart disease. Those with heart disease were more likely to use statins than those without such a diagnosis recorded. Statin use was more likely among those aged 65 to 74 than those 45 to 64 and 75 years of age and older. Race was not a significant predictor of statin drug use. The percent of women aged 55 and older with elevated cholesterol is almost twice that of men, due in part to their lower use of statin drugs. Conclusion: Our preliminary findings suggest that there is differential use of statins based on age and gender. Additional research is needed to investigate the sources of this differential treatment.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this section will be able to
Keywords: Cholesterol, Prescription Drug Use Patterns
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.