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The under-use of statin in type 2 diabetic patients attending diabetic clinics in Italy

Angelo Avogaro1, Pietro Guida, Carlo Giorda

  • 1Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Padova, School of Medicine, Via Giustiniani 2, 35128 Padova, Italy. angelo.avogaro@unipd.it

Nutrition, Metabolism, and Cardiovascular Diseases : NMCD
|December 19, 2006
PubMed

Insights

Statin therapy is underutilized in diabetic patients, with only 20.4% receiving treatment. This low prescription rate for 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase inhibitors (statins) is concerning given their cardiovascular benefits.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Endocrinology
  • Pharmacology

Background:

  • Cardiovascular disease (CAD) mortality reduction is greatest in high-risk patients, including diabetics.
  • Evidence suggests suboptimal use of lipid-lowering therapies like statins to achieve treatment goals.
  • Diabetic patients represent a high-risk population for CAD.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the prevalence of statin use among patients in diabetic clinics.
  • To examine the relationship between statin prescription and patient risk factors and clinical status.

Main Methods:

  • A cross-sectional study involving 9921 patients attending diabetic clinics.
  • Analysis of statin prescription rates based on patient demographics, comorbidities, and cardiovascular risk factors.

Main Results:

  • Only 20.4% of the 9921 patients were on statin therapy.
  • Statin use increased with additional cardiovascular risk factors beyond diabetes.
  • Patients on statins were older, more likely to have type 2 diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and macro/microvascular complications.

Conclusions:

  • A majority of diabetic patients in Italy are not prescribed statins.
  • A significant number of untreated diabetic patients exhibit existing macro- and microvascular complications.
  • There is a critical need to improve statin utilization in diabetic populations to mitigate cardiovascular risk.
Abstract

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