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these findings contribute to the debate on the effectiveness of statin therapy and the need for more personalised approach in the management of patients prescribed statins”.
- Ralph Akyea

Statins, one of the most commonly prescribed class of drugs, have been associated with variations in cholesterol response. However, the association between the inter-personal variations in response and future cardiovascular disease outcomes have not been explored.

Using a large prospective population cohort of 165,411 primary care patients from the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink, this study provides ‘real world evidence’ on the association between inter-individual variations and future cardiovascular disease outcomes in patients initiating statin therapy. Based on current national guidelines, a less than 40 per cent reduction in the level of cholesterol was considered as sub-optimal (poor) response.

The study conducted by SPCR doctoral student, Ralph K Akyea, found that over half of patients (51.2 per cent) started on statins do not achieve the intended therapeutic benefits and significantly increases their risk of future cardiovascular disease.

Read the full press release: https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/news/pressreleases/2019/apr/statins.aspx

 

Full paper:     Sub-optimal cholesterol response to initiation of statins and future risk of cardiovascular disease doi 10.1136/heartjnl-2018-314253

 

Ralph Kwame Akyea is an SPCR Doctoral Student and Research Associate with the Primary Care Stratified Medicine Group, Division of Primary Care, University of Nottingham. His doctoral research is focused on developing a novel personalised medicine tool to quantify cardiovascular disease risk severity for use in primary care.