Patients Living With HIV Are Less Likely to Receive Appropriate Statin Therapy for Cardiovascular Disease Risk Reduction.
Publication/Presentation Date
8-1-2022
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Recent studies suggest that statins are underprescribed in patients living with HIV (PLWH) at risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), but none have assessed if eligible patients receive the correct statin and intensity compared to uninfected controls.
OBJECTIVES: The primary objective was to determine whether statin-eligible PLWH are less likely to receive appropriate statin therapy compared to patients without HIV.
METHODS: This retrospective study evaluated statin eligibility and prescribing among patients in both an HIV and internal medicine clinic at an urban, academic medical center from June-September 2018 using the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guideline on treating blood cholesterol to reduce ASCVD risk. Patients were assessed for eligibility and actual treatment with appropriate statin therapy. Characteristics of patients appropriately and not appropriately treated were compared with chi-square testing and predictors for receiving appropriate statin therapy were determined with logistic regression.
RESULTS: A total of 221/300 study subjects were statin-eligible. Fewer statin-eligible PLWH were receiving the correct statin intensity for their risk benefit group versus the uninfected control group (30.2% vs 67.0%, p < 0.001). In the multivariable logistic regression analysis, PLWH were significantly less likely to receive appropriate statin therapy, while those with polypharmacy were more likely to receive appropriate statin therapy.
CONCLUSION: Our study reveals that PLWH may be at a disadvantage in receiving appropriate statin therapy for ASCVD risk reduction. This is important given the heightened risk for ASCVD in this population, and strategies that address this gap in care should be explored.
Volume
35
Issue
4
First Page
568
Last Page
572
ISSN
1531-1937
Published In/Presented At
Emmons, R. P., Hastain, N. V., Miano, T. A., & Schafer, J. J. (2022). Patients Living With HIV Are Less Likely to Receive Appropriate Statin Therapy for Cardiovascular Disease Risk Reduction. Journal of pharmacy practice, 35(4), 568–572. https://doi.org/10.1177/0897190021999790
Disciplines
Medicine and Health Sciences | Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
PubMedID
33678059
Document Type
Article