Trends and Gaps in Statin Use for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention in Type 2 Diabetes: A Real-World Study in Shanghai, China

Abstract

BackgroundCardiovascular disease (CVD) is the major cause of death among persons with diabetes. As the preventative use of statin has been proved to reduce CVD risks, understanding the current status and the trend in statin use is crucial to improve clinical treatment strategies. ObjectiveOur study aimed to answer the question of what were the status and trend of statin use in Shanghai, China. MethodsOur study estimated statin use and trends from 2015 to 2021 among 702 727 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) based on electronic health records from the Shanghai Hospital Link Database. Patients were grouped according to the presence of CVDs, tested separately for statin primary and secondary prevention use, and stratified by age and sex. ResultsIn the study population, 221 127 patients (31.5%) received statin therapy, and among patients with CVD, 157 622 patients (51.62%) received statin therapy for secondary prevention, but only 15% of patients received statins for primary prevention. The trend in the use of statins was still on the rise from 28.3% in 2015. Statin use increased with age (18-39 years, 14.0%; 40-59 years, 26.8%; 60-74 years, 33.35%; and 75 and over, 36.1%), and women (29.7%, n = 93 977) were less likely to receive statin therapy compared to men (32.9%, n = 127 150). ConclusionDespite the rise in statin use in T2DM in recent decades, a large proportion of subjects with T2DM did not receive statin therapy.