Racial Differences in Medication Utilization for Secondary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease in Kidney Transplant Recipients: A Post Hoc Analysis of the FAVORIT Trial Cohort

RATIONALE & OBJECTIVE: Black kidney transplant recipients have higher prevalences of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors and less intensive risk factor control than White kidney transplant recipients. Our objective was to evaluate racial disparities in receipt of statins and aspirin for secondary CVD prevention among kidney transplant recipients in the Folic Acid for Vascular Outcome Reduction in Transplantation (FAVORIT) trial. STUDY DESIGN: Cohort study. SETTING & PARTICIPANTS: FAVORIT participants of White, Black, and Other races from the United States and Canada with a history of CVD at study entry or who experienced a nonfatal CVD event during follow-up. PREDICTOR: Race. OUTCOME: Receipt of statins and aspirin for secondary CVD prevention. ANALYTICAL APPROACH: We used parametric (Weibull), proportional-hazards, interval-censored survival models to evaluate the independent association of race with receipt of statins and aspirin for secondary CVD prevention. RESULTS: Of the 4,110 kidney transplant recipients enrolled in FAVORIT trial, 978 met the inclusion criteria (78% White, 17% Black, and 6% Other race). Compared with the White race, Black and Other races were associated with lower hazards of receiving statins (Black race: adjusted HR, 0.76 [95% CI, 0.60-0.97]; Other race: adjusted HR, 0.87 [95% CI, 0.60-1.27]) and aspirin (Black race: adjusted HR, 0.85 [95% CI, 0.67-1.08]; Other race: adjusted HR, 0.63 [95% CI, 0.43-0.94]). LIMITATIONS: Lack of granular information on potential indications or contraindications for aspirin or statin use for secondary CVD prevention. CONCLUSIONS: Post hoc findings from the FAVORIT trial demonstrated that Black race was associated with a lower likelihood of receiving statins and Other race was associated with a lower likelihood of receiving aspirin for secondary CVD prevention. This represents a potential target to improve CVD care in non-White kidney transplant recipients.