Predictors of statin use among older adults: A nationwide cross-sectional study

Use of statins and associated factors in nonagenarians in the Community of Madrid, Spain

Background

The role of statins in the management of dyslipidemia in elderly patients with different cardiovascular risks remains unclear.

Objective

To study use of statins and associated factors in subjects aged 90 or over in the Community of Madrid, Spain.

Methods

Observational, cross-sectional study that included all people aged 90 or more residing in the Community of Madrid as of December 31, 2015. The clinical information was obtained from the database that contains the electronic medical records collected by family doctors in primary care. Comorbidity data are collected according to the International Classification of Primary Care, Second Edition (ICPC-2).

Results

The study population comprised 59,423 subjects, with a mean age of 93.3 (2.5) years (25.8% males). Slightly more than one quarter of the population (28.2%) was in treatment with statins, 21.9% were in primary prevention, and 48.1% in secondary prevention. The multivariate analysis revealed the factors independently associated with statin treatment to be younger age, not being institutionalized, a higher Barthel score, a lower Charlson score, a higher body mass index, and a history of diabetes, dyslipidemia, chronic kidney disease, and cardiovascular disease.

Conclusions

A significant percentage of nonagenarians—mainly less frail patients with more comorbidities—in the Community of Madrid receive statin treatment. No clear efficacy has been demonstrated in reducing cardiovascular events in an age group with such a short life expectancy.

Perioperative Statin Use May Reduce Postoperative Arrhythmia Rates After Total Joint Arthroplasty

BACKGROUND

Postoperative arrhythmias are associated with increased morbidity and mortality in total joint arthroplasty (TJA) patients. HMG-CoA (3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-CoA) reductase inhibitors (statins) decrease atrial fibrillation rates after cardiac surgery, but it is unknown if this cardioprotective effect is maintained after joint reconstruction surgery. We aim to determine if perioperative statin use decreases the incidence of 90-day postoperative arrhythmias in patients undergoing primary TJA.

METHODS

We performed a single-center retrospective cohort study in which 231 primary TJA patients (109 hips, 122 knees) received simvastatin 80 mg daily during their hospitalization as part of a single surgeon's standard postoperative protocol. This cohort was matched to 966 primary TJA patients (387 hips and 579 knees) that did not receive simvastatin. New-onset arrhythmias (bradycardia, atrial fibrillation/tachycardia/flutter, paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia, and ventricular tachycardia) and complications (readmissions, thromboembolism, infection, and dislocation) within 90 days of the procedure were documented. Categorical variables were analyzed using Fisher's exact tests. Our study was powered to detect a 3% difference in arrhythmia rates.

RESULTS

Within 90 days postoperatively, arrhythmias occurred in 1 patient (0.4%) who received a perioperative statin, 39 patients (4.0%) who did not receive statins (P = .003), and 24 patients (4.2%) who were on outpatient statins (P = .005). This is 10-fold reduction in the relative risk of developing a postoperative arrhythmia within 90 days of arthroplasty and an absolute risk reduction of 3.6%.

CONCLUSION

Treating as few as 28 patients with perioperative simvastatin prevents one new cardiac arrhythmia within 90 days in statin-naïve patients undergoing TJA.

Association of statin use in older people primary prevention group with risk of cardiovascular events and mortality: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies

BACKGROUND

Current evidence from randomized controlled trials on statins for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in older people, especially those aged > 75 years, is still lacking. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies to extend the current evidence about the association of statin use in older people primary prevention group with risk of CVD and mortality.

METHODS

PubMed, Scopus, and Embase were searched from inception until March 18, 2021. We included observational studies (cohort or nested case-control) that compared statin use vs non-use for primary prevention of CVD in older people aged ≥ 65 years; provided that each of them reported the risk estimate on at least one of the following primary outcomes: all cause-mortality, CVD death, myocardial infarction (MI), and stroke. Risk estimates of each relevant outcome were pooled as a hazard ratio (HR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) using the random-effects meta-analysis model. The quality of the evidence was rated using the GRADE approach.

RESULTS

Ten observational studies (9 cohorts and one case-control study; n = 815,667) fulfilled our criteria. The overall combined estimate suggested that statin therapy was associated with a significantly lower risk of all-cause mortality (HR: 0.86 [95% CI 0.79 to 0.93]), CVD death (HR: 0.80 [95% CI 0.78 to 0.81]), and stroke (HR: 0.85 [95% CI 0.76 to 0.94]) and a non-significant association with risk of MI (HR 0.74 [95% CI 0.53 to 1.02]). The beneficial association of statins with the risk of all-cause mortality remained significant even at higher ages (> 75 years old; HR 0.88 [95% CI 0.81 to 0.96]) and in both men (HR: 0.75 [95% CI: 0.74 to 0.76]) and women (HR 0.85 [95% CI 0.72 to 0.99]). However, this association with the risk of all-cause mortality remained significant only in those with diabetes mellitus (DM) (HR 0.82 [95% CI 0.68 to 0.98]) but not in those without DM. The level of evidence of all the primary outcomes was rated as "very low."

CONCLUSIONS

Statin therapy in older people (aged ≥ 65 years) without CVD was associated with a 14%, 20%, and 15% lower risk of all-cause mortality, CVD death, and stroke, respectively. The beneficial association with the risk of all-cause mortality remained significant even at higher ages (> 75 years old), in both men and women, and in individuals with DM, but not in those without DM. These observational findings support the need for trials to test the benefits of statins in those above 75 years of age.

Age-Related Trajectories of Cardiovascular Risk and Use of Aspirin and Statin Among U.S. Adults Aged 50 or Older, 2011-2018

OBJECTIVES

To examine age-related trajectories of cardiovascular risk and use of aspirin and statin among U.S. adults aged 50 or older.

DESIGN

Repeated cross-sectional study using data from 2011 to 2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys.

SETTING

Nationally representative health interview survey in the United States.

PARTICIPANTS

Non-institutionalized adults aged 50 years and older (n = 11,392 unweighted).

MEASUREMENTS

Primary prevention was defined as the prevention of a first cardiovascular event including coronary heart disease, angina/angina pectoris, heart attack, or stroke, whereas secondary prevention was defined as those with a history of these clinical conditions. Medication use was determined by self-report; aspirin use included dose and frequency, and statin use included generic names, days of prescription fills, and indications. We examined linear trends between age and each medication use, after controlling for period, sex, and race/ethnicity.

RESULTS

Prevalence of those eligible for primary prevention treatment increased with age from 31.8% in ages 50-54 to 52.0% in ages ≥75 (p < 0.001). Similarly, those eligible for secondary prevention treatment increased with age from 2.7% in ages 50-54 to 21.1% in ages ≥75 (p < 0.001). Low-dose daily aspirin use increased with age (p < 0.001), and 45.3% of adults aged ≥75 took low-dose aspirin daily for primary prevention. Statin use also increased with age (p < 0.001), and 56.4% of adults aged ≥75 had long-term statin use for secondary prevention.

CONCLUSION

While adults aged ≥75 do not benefit from the use of aspirin to prevent the first CVD, many continue to take aspirin on a regular basis. In spite of the clear benefit of statin use to prevent a subsequent CVD event, many older adults in this risk category are not taking a statin. Further education and guidance for both healthcare providers and older adults regarding the appropriate use of aspirin and statins to prevent CVD is needed.

The changing pattern of statin use in people with dementia: A population-based study

BACKGROUND

After a dementia diagnosis, goals of care are often reassessed, including the use of preventive medications like statins.

OBJECTIVE

To examine changes in statin use after initiating medication for managing dementia.

METHODS

A case-crossover study utilizing medication dispensing data from the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) 10% random sample was conducted. Use of statins was compared in the 12 months pre- and post-initiation (pre-period and post-period) of anti-dementia medications or risperidone for behavioural symptoms of dementia. Individuals aged ≥65 years who had their first dispensing of anti-dementia medication or risperidone between July 2006 and June 2017 and survived ≥12 months after their first supply were included. Conditional logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for change in statin use in the discordant pairs.

RESULTS

The cohort (n = 19,809) had a median age of 81 years and 61% were female. Statins were less likely to be used after initiating anti-dementia medication or risperidone (OR 0.50; 95%CI 0.45-0.55). The OR for statin use in the post-period versus the pre-period decreased annually over the 11 years from 1.21; 95%CI 0.84-1.75 in 2006-7 to 0.31; 95%CI 0.24-0.41 in 2016-17 (p for interaction <0.05).

CONCLUSION

Statins are more likely to be ceased than started after initiating medication for dementia. This may reflect changes in goals of care, or changes in the interpretation of the available evidence for the safety and efficacy of statins in older people living with dementia.

Adherence, Persistence, and Switching Among People Prescribed Sodium Glucose Co-transporter 2 Inhibitors: A Nationwide Retrospective Cohort Study

INTRODUCTION

Non-adherence and non-persistence to diabetes medications are associated with worse clinical outcomes. In this study, we aimed to characterise the 1-year switching, adherence, and persistence patterns among people with diabetes aged 18 years and older prescribed sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2is) in Australia.

METHODS

Using data from Australia's national Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), we identified 11,981 adults (mean age 60.9 years; 40.5% female) newly initiated on SGLT2is (5993 dapagliflozin; 5988 empagliflozin) from September 2015 to August 2017. Adherence was assessed via the proportion of days covered (PDC), persistence was defined as the continuous use of SGLT2i without a gap of ≥ 90 days, and switching was defined as the first change from dapagliflozin to empagliflozin or vice versa. Generalised linear models (GLMs) were used to compare the adherence (PDC = continuous), logistic regression models were used to compare the likelihoods of being adherent (PDC ≥ 0.80), and Cox proportional hazard models were used to compare the likelihoods of persistence and switching between people prescribed empagliflozin and dapagliflozin.

RESULTS

Overall, 65.8% (7879/11,981) of people dispensed SGLT2is were adherent (PDC ≥ 0.80) and 72.1% (8644/11,981) were persistent at 12 months. The mean PDC was 0.79 ± 0.27. The use of empagliflozin was associated with higher adherence (PDC = continuous) [odds ratio (OR) 1.04, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.03-1.05], being adherent (OR 1.39, 95% CI 1.29-1.51), and persisting for 12 months [hazard ratio (HR) 1.14, 95% CI 1.06-1.22] compared with dapagliflozin. Only 4.3% (509/11,981) of people switched between the SGLT2i. Compared with dapagliflozin, people initiated on empagliflozin were less likely to switch [HR 0.46, 95% CI 0.38-0.55].

CONCLUSIONS

A considerable proportion of Australians prescribed SGLT2is were non-adherent or non-persistent. However, empagliflozin was associated with better adherence and persistence rates and a lower likelihood of switching compared with dapagliflozin.