Article Text
Abstract
Background Contemporary treatment guidelines advise statin use in all patients with diabetes for reducing coronary risk. Use of statins in patients with type 2 diabetes has not been reported from India.
Methods We performed a multisite (n=9) registry-based study among internists (n=3), diabetologists (n=3), and endocrinologists (n=3) across India to determine prescriptions of statins in patients with type 2 diabetes. Demographic and clinical details were obtained and prescriptions were audited for various medications with a focus on statins. Details of type of statin and dosage form (low, moderate, and high) were obtained. Patients were divided into categories based on presence of cardiovascular risk into low (no risk factors, n=1506), medium (≥1 risk factor, n=5425), and high (with vascular disease, n=1769). Descriptive statistics are presented.
Results Prescription details were available in 8699 (men 5292, women 3407). Statins were prescribed in 55.2% and fibrates in 9.2%. Statin prescription was significantly greater among diabetologists (64.4%) compared with internists (n=53.3%) and endocrinologists (46.8%; p<0.001). Atorvastatin was prescribed in 74.1%, rosuvastatin in 29.2%, and others in 3.0%. Statin prescriptions were lower in women (52.1%) versus men (57.2%; p<0.001) and in patients aged <40 years (34.3%), versus those aged 40–49 (49.7%), 50–59 (60.1%), and ≥60 years (62.2%; p<0.001). Low-dose statins were prescribed in 1.9%, moderate dose in 85.4%, and high dose in 12.7%. Statin prescriptions were greater in the high-risk group (58.0%) compared with those in the medium-risk (53.8%) and low-risk (56.8%) groups (p <0.001). High-dose statin prescriptions were similar in the high-risk (14.5%), medium-risk (11.8%), and low-risk (13.5%) groups (p=0.31).
Conclusions Statins are prescribed in only half of the clinic-based patients in India with type 2 diabetes. Prescription of high-dose statins is very low.
- Asian Indians
- Lipid-Lowering Drugs/Medication
- Atorvastatin
- Health Service Delivery
This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/