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Latest Statistics Show 30 Percent of Seniors Using Statins in 2002

Oct. 11, 2005 - The proportion of Medicare patients over age 65 using statins -- prescription drugs that help reduce cholesterol and other fatty substances in the blood -- more than doubled between 1997 and 2002 to over 30 percent, according to the latest statistics from the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).  AHRQ is a federal health agency, part of the Department of Health and Human Services.

(See "About Statins and Cholesterol" below main story.)

In 1997, just under 12 percent of the 38 million Medicare beneficiaries -- 4.4 million persons -- used at least one statin drug. By 2002, roughly 27 percent of the 41 million Medicare beneficiaries, or 11 million individuals, used the drugs. The statistics from AHRQ's Medical Expenditure Panel Survey do not include Medicare patients in nursing homes or other institutional settings.

Highlights from the study:

In 2002, 27.1 percent of the 41.1 million persons in the civilian non-institutionalized Medicare population used at least one statin during the year. The percentage of males who used statins (29.6 percent) was larger than the percentage for females (25.1 percent).

About 31 percent of beneficiaries ages 65–74 (30.9 percent) and ages 75–84 (30.5 percent) used a statin in 2002. This was larger than the percentage for beneficiaries who were less than 65 years old (16.9 percent) or beneficiaries who were 85 and older (11.8 percent).

In 2002, more than a quarter (28.5 percent) of white non-Hispanic beneficiaries used at least one statin during the year. This was larger than the percentage for black non-Hispanic beneficiaries (20.7 per­cent) and Hispanic beneficiaries (18.2 percent). The percentage with use for other non-Hispanic beneficiaries (28.1 percent) was larger than the percentage with use for Hispanics.

In 2002, beneficiaries with supplementary private group insurance were the most likely (32.4 percent) and beneficiaries with public insurance in addition to Medicare were the least likely (17.4 percent) to have used a statin during the year.

About one-quarter (26.4 percent) of beneficiaries with a private non-group supplementary policy and one-quarter (25.1 percent) of beneficiaries who were enrolled in a Medicare HMO or had Medicare fee-for-service only used a statin. Beneficiaries in the private non-group category and in the Medicare HMO/Medicare only category were more likely to use statins than persons with public insurance but less likely to use statins than persons with private group insurance.

Poor and near poor beneficiaries, those with family incomes less than 125 percent of the poverty line, were less likely (22.5 percent) to have used a statin in 2002 than low income (27.8 percent), middle income (27.4 percent), or high income beneficiaries (29.3 percent).

In 2002, beneficiaries who reported excellent health were the least likely (20.0 percent) to use a statin. The proportion with statin use was higher for beneficiaries who reported very good or good health (29.1 percent) and for beneficiaries who reported fair or poor health (27.3 percent).

When  AHRQ researchers examined the use of statins by the roughly 19 million Americans age 18 and older, who received treatment for high cholesterol in 2002, they found that nearly 82 percent - approximately 16 million persons --were using at least one of these drugs.

This AHRQ News and Numbers uses findings from two new Statistical Briefs -- Trends in Statin Use in the Civilian Non-Institutionalized Medicare Population, 1997 and 2002: Statistical Brief #97, and Statin Use among Persons 18 and Older in the U.S. Civilian Non-Institutionalized Population Reported as Receiving Medical Care for the Treatment of High Cholesterol, 2002: Statistical Brief #95. 

These MEPS Statistical Briefs can be found on AHRQ's Web site (click here) along with a third analysis -- Statin Use in the Civilian Non-Institutionalized Medicare Population in 2002: Statistical Brief: #96.

For more information on this AHRQ News and Numbers or to speak with a MEPS data expert about the findings, e-mail Nate Robinson in AHRQ's Office of Communications and Knowledge Transfer at nrobinso@ahrq.gov or call (301) 427-1241.

About Statins and Cholesterol

The majority of people require drug therapy to adequately reduce their LDL cholesterol level. There are several different classes of medications that reduce cholesterol. Statins are the most common and powerful class of drugs.

They reduce LDL cholesterol by blocking a key step in the process of manufacturing cholesterol in the liver. The average starting dose of all statins will reduce LDL by approximately 25% to 40% and raise HDL by 5% to 10%.

Higher doses of some stronger statins can reduce LDL by 50% to 60%. In addition to their effects on cholesterol, statins have other beneficial effects. The most important may be their ability to reduce inflammation, and in particular, C-reactive protein (CRP), which is elevated in people who are at higher risk of having heart attacks.

Statins should be the first drug used in most people to control cholesterol. Your doctor may use other drugs that lower cholesterol by different means if a statin does not sufficiently lower your cholesterol or if you do not tolerate the statin because of side effects. These other drugs include ezetimibe, which blocks cholesterol absorption in the intestines and lowers LDL; nicotinic acid (niacin), which lowers LDL and raises HDL; and fibrates, which help the body lower triglycerides and raise HDL. All these drugs may be used alone or in combination to achieve the goal level of cholesterol.

TABLE 1. Cholesterol-Lowering Medications

American Heart Association (Treatment of Elevated Cholesterol by B.M. Scirica, MD, and C.P. Cannon, MD, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Boston)

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