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Statin-related adverse drug reactions in UK primary care consultations: A retrospective cohort study to evaluate the risk of cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality

  • Widya N. Insani
  • , Cate Whittlesea
  • , Chengsheng Ju
  • , Kenneth K.C. Man
  • , Hassan Alwafi
  • , Alaa Alsharif
  • , Sarah Chapman
  • , Li Wei
  • University College London
  • Padjadjaran University
  • Chinese University of Hong Kong
  • Laboratory of Data Discovery for Health
  • Umm Al-Qura University
  • Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

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Abstract

Aims
To investigate the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) events and all-cause mortality in patients with statin-related adverse drug reaction (ADR) consultation in primary care and examine whether different treatments following the ADR affect subsequent outcomes.

Methods
This was a retrospective cohort study of statin users between 2004 and 2019 using IQVIA Medical Research Data (formally known as the THIN database). Patients with statin-related ADR consultation were matched by propensity score (1:1) to statin users without ADR consultation based on demographics, comorbidities and concomitant medication. Cox proportional hazard regression was used to compare the risk of subsequent CVD event and all-cause mortality, stratified by history of CVD. In the secondary analysis among patients with statin-related ADR, treatment changes within a 1-year period following the ADR were examined and the outcomes were compared between different treatment groups.

Results
Among 1 564 687 statin users, 19 035 (1.22%) had a statin-related ADR consultation in primary care. The mean (standard deviation) follow-up time was 6.32 (3.74) years and 5.31 (3.83) years for CVD primary and secondary prevention cohorts, respectively. Statin-related ADR consultation was associated with subsequent CVD events in both cohorts (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] of 1.39 [95% CI 1.23, 1.57] and 1.34 [95% CI 1.25,1.42], respectively). In the secondary analysis among patients with statin-related ADR consultation, we found that (i) continued statin prescription or combination of any statin with additional lipid-lowering treatment (LLT) and (ii) other LLT only were associated with lower risks of CVD event (adjusted HR 0.71 [95% CI 0.64, 0.78] and 0.75 [95% CI 0.62, 0.92], respectively) and all-cause mortality (adjusted HR 0.46 [95% CI 0.42, 0.50] and 0.52 [95% CI, 0.43, 0.64], respectively), compared to discontinuation of all LLT.

Conclusion
Statin-related ADR was associated with an increased risk of subsequent CVD event, indicating that these patients should be monitored more closely. Continued lipid-lowering medication is of importance to protect against CVD events and mortality.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)4902-4914
Number of pages13
JournalBritish Journal Of Clinical Pharmacology
Volume88
Issue number11
Early online date13 Jun 2022
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Nov 2022

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Authors. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Pharmacological Society.

Data Availability Statement

No additional data are available for sharing.

Funding

his study was supported by a research grant from the Rosetrees Trust (Ref: CM705). W.N.I. was funded by a scholarship from the Indonesia Endowment Fund for Education/LPDP Indonesia, Ministry of Finance, Republic of Indonesia (Ref: 201908223215121). The funding bodies had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish or preparation of the manuscript.

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

  1. SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being
    SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being

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