Statin initiation and treatment non-adherence following a first acute myocardial infarction in patients with inflammatory rheumatic disease versus the general population

INTRODUCTION: To compare statin initiation and treatment non-adherence following a first acute myocardial infarction (MI) in patients with inflammatory rheumatic disease (IRD) and the general population. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using a population-based linked database. Cases of first MI from July 2001 to June 2009 were identified based on International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10-AM) codes. Statin initiation and adherence was identified based on pharmaceutical claims records. Logistic regression was used to assess the odds of statin initiation by IRD status. Non-adherence was assessed as the time to first treatment gap using a Cox proportional hazards model. RESULTS: There were 18,518 individuals with an index MI over the time period surviving longer than 30 days, of whom 415 (2.2%) were IRD patients. The adjusted odds of receiving a statin by IRD status was significantly lower (OR =0.69, 95% CI: 0.55 to 0.86) compared to the general population. No association between IRD status and statin non-adherence was identified (hazard ratio (HR) =1.12, 95% CI: 0.82 to 1.52). CONCLUSIONS: Statin initiation was significantly lower for people with IRD conditions compared to the general population. Once initiated on statins, the proportion of IRD patients who adhered to treatment was similar to the general population. Given the burden of cardiovascular disease and excess mortality in IRD patients, encouraging the use of evidence-based therapies is critical for ensuring the best outcomes in this high risk group. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13075-014-0443-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.