Cholesterol

CDC: Nearly 50% of Those Eligible for Cholesterol Drugs Do Not Take Them

While over 33% of American adults are eligible for treatment with cholesterol-lowering medications under current guidelines, nearly 50% of those adults are not taking them, according to a recent report from the CDC.

While data collected between 2007 and 2014 has shown a decline in the number of Americans with high cholesterol and an increase in the number of Americans taking cholesterol-lowering medications, a high level of LDL cholesterol remains a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke.
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To explore this issue, CDC researchers assessed data from the 2005-2012 National Health and Nutritional Examination Surveys. Overall, 78.1 million adults (36.7%) were either eligible for cholesterol-lowering medications or were already taking one, but 35.5% of these adults reported neither taking these medications nor making lifestyle changes to improve their cholesterol levels.

Breaking down participants into subgroups, researchers found that:

  • 40.8% of men were eligible for cholesterol-lowering medication and of those, 52.9% were taking one.
  • 32.9% of women were eligible and of those, 58.6% were taking one.
  • 24.2% of Mexican-Americans were eligible and of those, 47.1% were taking one.
  • 39.5% of black Americans were eligible and of those, 46% were taking one.
  • 38.4% of white Americans were eligible and of those, 58% were taking one.

Note: While the study included all forms of cholesterol-lowering medications, 90% of participants were taking statins.

“Nearly 800,000 people die in the U.S. each year from cardiovascular diseases—that’s one in every three deaths—and high cholesterol continues to be a major risk factor,” researchers wrote. “This study reveals opportunities to reduce existing disparities through targeted patient education and cholesterol management programs.”

—Michael Potts

Reference:
CDC. Half of those who need them not taking cholesterol-lowering medications [press release]. December 3, 2015. http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2015/p1203-cholesterol-medicine.html.