Factors Associated with Disparities in Appropriate Statin Therapy in an Outpatient Inner City Population

Lipid-lowering therapies are essential for the primary and secondary prevention of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). The aim of this study is to identify discrepancies between cholesterol management guidelines and current practice with a focus on statin treatment in an underserved population based in a large single urban medical center. Among 1042 reviewed records, we identified 464 statin-eligible patients. Age was 61.0 ± 10.4 years and 53.9% were female. Most patients were black (47.2%), followed by Hispanic (45.7%) and white (5.0%). In total, 82.1% of patients were prescribed a statin. An appropriate statin was not prescribed in 32.4% of statin-eligible patients who qualified based only on a 10-year ASCVD risk of ≥7.5%. After adjustment for gender and health insurance status, appropriate statin treatment was independently associated with age >55 years (OR = 4.59 (95% CI 1.09–16.66), p = 0.026), hypertension (OR = 2.38 (95% CI 1.29–4.38), p = 0.005) and chronic kidney disease (OR = 3.95 (95% CI 1.42–14.30), p = 0.017). Factors independently associated with statin undertreatment were black race (OR = 0.42 (95% CI 0.23–0.77), p = 0.005) and statin-eligibility based solely on an elevated 10-year ASCVD risk (OR = 0.14 (95% CI 0.07–0.25), p < 0.001). Hispanic patients were more likely to be on appropriate statin therapy when compared to black patients (86.8% vs. 77.2%). Statin underprescription is seen in approximately one out of five eligible patients and is independently associated with black race, younger age, fewer comorbidities and eligibility via 10-year ASCVD risk only. Hispanic patients are more likely to be on appropriate statin therapy compared to black patients.