Statin adherence and influencing factors in hyperlipidemia patients treated in community health centers in Beijing

Abstract

Objective To investigate statin adherence and influencing factors in hyperlipidemia patients treated in community health centers. Method This study enrolled hyperlipidemia patients for whom statins were newly prescribed by doctors at 7 community health centers. Baseline and follow-up information was collected by well-trained investigators by telephone. Adherence to statins was evaluated after 3 months of follow-up. Results We included 104 hyperlipidemia patients for whom statins were newly prescribed between July and December 2017; of these, 48.1% knew about the complications of hyperlipidemia and 84.6% thought it was necessary to take lipid-lowering drugs; however, 63.5% were concerned about the side effects of these drugs. After 3 months of follow-up, 40.4% of patients had stopped taking statins, and 60.5% were nonadherent to the statin prescriptions. The analysis of influencing factors showed that hyperlipidemia history less than 6 months (OR=9.644, 95%CI: 3.214-28.943, P<0.001) and having to take more than 2 pills per day (OR=3.536, 95%CI: 1.254-9.972, P=0.017) were positively associated with cessation of statin use, while thinking it necessary to take lipid-lowering drugs (OR=0.126, 95%CI: 0.018-0.883, P=0.037) was negatively associated with cessation of statin use. Meanwhile, hyperlipidemia history for less than 6 months (OR=3.368, 95%CI: 1.283-8.847, P=0.014) was positively associated with poor statin adherence. Conclusion Poor statin adherence was observed in patients treated in community health centers. Health knowledge awareness, attitude toward chronic disease treatment, i.e., lipid-lowering treatment, and pill burden might influence statin adherence. Key words: Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA reductase inhibitors; Medication adherence; Influencers