Abstract
Objectives: The aim was to study the prevalence of co-medication of statins in patients receiving oral blood glucose-lowering drugs by age and gender. Method: Treatment with oral antidiabetics was used as a surrogate endpoint for the presence of type 2 diabetes. Data on patients with at least one prescription of oral antidiabetics in the period 2004-2006 were retrieved from the Norwegian Prescription Database (NorPD). Information on dispensation of statins in the same calendar year was also obtained. Long-term users of oral antidiabetics were defined as patients filling a prescription of these drugs the year prior to the year of observation. Results: In 2006, a total of 76 288 users of oral blood glucose-lowering drugs were registered as long-term users. 57.0% men and 49.7% women of long-term users received a statin. 15 646 patients were new users of oral antidiabetics in 2006. 45.5% men and 34.9% women of new users received a statin. The proportion of statin users increased with age and was higher in men than in women in all age groups. An absolute increase of 3% from 2005 to 2006 was observed in the proportion of use of statins in both long-term users and new users of oral antidiabetics. Conclusions: In 2006, 54% of long-term users and 40% of new users of oral blood glucose-lowering drugs also received statins; these proportions were an increase from 2005. Men were more likely to receive statins than women which can reflect that, in the general population, the overall cardiovascular risk in men is higher than in women
Highlights
In 2006, the one-year prevalence of drug-treated diabetes mellitus in Norway was 2.7%, representing approximately 125 000 individuals
7920 15646 45.5 40.3 glucose-lowering drugs were registered as long-term users and 15 646 persons were registered as new users
From 2005 to 2006 there was an absolute increase of 3% in the use of statins in patients receiving oral antidiabetic treament
Summary
In 2006, the one-year prevalence of drug-treated diabetes mellitus in Norway was 2.7%, representing approximately 125 000 individuals (www.norpd.no). Both type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus are associated with increased risk of coronary heart disease, and prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) is an important issue.[1] Studies have shown that type 2 diabetes patients, with no myocardial infarction, have a risk of infarction similar to that of nondiabetic patients with a prior myocardial infarction.[2] There is increasing evidence that statin therapy should be considered in patients with diabetes.[3] International guidelines recognise the increased cardiovascular risk in patients with type 2 diabetes and endorse the use of statins in adult patients with type 2 diabetes with CVD, as well as without CVD if their total cholesterol is > 3.5 mmol/L.4. The aim of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of co-medication of statins in patients receiving oral blood glucoselowering drugs by age and gender in 2005 and 2006
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