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Statin Adherence: Does Gender Matter?

  • Women and Ischemic Heart Disease (E. Jackson, Section Editor)
  • Published:
Current Atherosclerosis Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose of Review

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) continues to be the leading cause of death for men and women in the USA. Statins have contributed significantly to noted declines in cardiovascular-related mortality in the last decade; however, the benefit of statins is inequitable across genders. Women continue to be less likely to take statins and to meet target LDL goals than men. As a possible contributing factor to this disparity, we explore the evidence for gender-based differences in provision of, and adherence to statins.

Recent Findings

Compared with men, women are less likely to adhere to statins. Potential reasons for this gender difference in use of statins can be observed across all phases of adherence including both intentional and unintentional non-adherence. Notable gender-specific contributing factors for statin non-adherence include decreased provider and patient awareness of CVD risk among women, higher risk of statin intolerance among women, and competing demands associated with family caregiving responsibilities. Similar to limitations in the broader CVD literature, there is inadequate inclusion of gender-specific analyses in statin-related trials.

Summary

Gender-based disparities in statin adherence can be linked to both provider level, psychosocial, and medication intolerance factors. Interventions designed to improve statin adherence should take gender-specific challenges into consideration such as women being older at the time of increased CVD risk, higher rates of statin intolerance, and potentially greater caregiving responsibilities.

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Correspondence to Karen M. Goldstein.

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Conflict of Interest

Karen M. Goldstein, Leah L. Zullig, and Lori A. Bastian declare that they have no conflict of interest. Hayden B. Bosworth declares grant support from Johnson & Johnson, Improved Patient Outcomes, and Takeda and personal fees from Genetech, Walgreens, and CVS Caremart.

Funding

Dr. Goldstein’s effort is supported by VA HSR&D CDA award no. 13-263. Dr. Zullig’s effort is supported by VA HSR&D CDA award no. 13-025. Dr. Bosworth’s effort is supported by VA HSR&D RCS award no. VA HSR&D 08-027. The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Department of Veterans Affairs or the US Government.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Women and Ischemic Heart Disease

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Goldstein, K.M., Zullig, L.L., Bastian, L.A. et al. Statin Adherence: Does Gender Matter?. Curr Atheroscler Rep 18, 63 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11883-016-0619-9

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