A statin pill
Some races in the UK with type 2 diabetes may be prescribed fewer statins, new research suggests.
People of South Asian and African-Caribbean descent are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes, as well as cardiovascular complications from diabetes such as heart attacks and strokes.
However, a new study suggests that these people were less likely to receive guideline-related statins than people of European descent.
The drug lowers blood cholesterol and reduces cardiovascular complications in people with diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes is a potent risk factor for cardiovascular disease, which has been linked to 17.9 million deaths each year worldwide, 80% of which are due to heart attacks and strokes, researchers say.
Researchers accessed a database of 12 million anonymized primary care records from 836 practices in the UK to examine ethnic differences in guideline-based statin prescribing for people with type 2 diabetes
They identified 31,039 cases of type 2 diabetes diagnosed between 2006 and 2019.
The researchers then compared statin intake rates in people of European, South Asian, and African-Caribbean ancestry.
They adjusted for differences in sociodemographics, health care, and cardiovascular risk factors or comorbidity in the three groups.
According to the study published in PLOS Medicine, people of African / African-Caribbean descent with type 2 diabetes were 24% less likely to receive statins and people of South Asian descent were 9% less likely than people of European descent.
However, the authors say the study was limited as they failed to identify specific reasons for the inequality in statin prescribing across different ethnic groups.
Future studies must explain the differences.
Lead author Sophie Eastwood of University College London said, “Statins lower cholesterol and are a crucial way to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke in people with type 2 diabetes.
“We estimated that eliminating ethnic differences in statin prescribing could prevent up to 12,600 heart attacks and strokes in people currently living with type 2 diabetes in the UK.”
The authors conclude: “By aligning statin initiation rates between people of South Asian or African-Caribbean descent and people of European descent, up to 12,600 other atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases (ASCVD) in people with type 2 diabetes could be prevented.
“Therefore, further research urgently needs to be sought for explanations for the underprescription of statins, especially in people in Africa / Africa-Caribbean.
“If our results are confirmed, a nationwide strategy to identify prescribing inequalities and deliver targeted education and prescribing interventions followed by re-examination until equity is achieved is imperative and could lead to the prevention of significant cardiovascular morbidity.”
