In the retrospective study, data from outpatient adult visits with ischemic heart disease (IHD) from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) were utilized between January 2006 and December 2018 to gather information. Researchers sought to look at how statin use has changed over time and the factors that could predict it in outpatient adult visits for IHD. They identified a total of 542,704,112 weighted adult ambulatory visits with IHD between 2006 and 2018, and they found that 46.6% of those patients were either taking a statin or had been prescribed one. Middle age (50-74 years) (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.65, 95% CI 1.28-2.13 P<.001) and old age (≥75 years) (aOR=1.66, CI 1.26-2.19 P<.001) were linked to a higher likelihood of statin utilization in comparison to young age (18-49 years), and male sex (aOR = 1.35, CI 1.23-1.48 P<.001) Statin utilization was nominally lower in Medicare (aOR = 0.91, CI 0.80-1.02, P=.112), Medicaid (aOR=0.78, CI 0.59-1.02, P=.072), and self-pay/no charge (aOR=0.72, CI 0.48-1.09, P=.122) visits compared to visits covered by private insurance; however, this difference did not reach statistical significance. There was not a significant increase in the utilization of statins from the year 2006 (44.1%) to the year 2018 (46.2%) (P=.549). There has been no discernible improvement in statin use among patients with IHD between 2006 and 2018, even though substantial gaps still existed in statin utilization. There was still a significant gender, racial/ethnic, and age discrepancy in the prescription of statins, with younger patients, women, and minorities accounting for the biggest treatment gaps (NH Blacks and Hispanics).
Source – sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0002870322001090
