Statin‐related adverse drug reactions in UK primary care consultations: A retrospective cohort study to evaluate the risk of cardiovascular events and all‐cause mortality

AIMS: To investigate the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) events and all‐cause mortality in patients with statin‐related adverse drug reaction (ADR) consultation in primary care and examine whether different treatments following the ADR affect subsequent outcomes. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study of statin users between 2004 and 2019 using IQVIA Medical Research Data (formally known as the THIN database). Patients with statin‐related ADR consultation were matched by propensity score (1:1) to statin users without ADR consultation based on demographics, comorbidities and concomitant medication. Cox proportional hazard regression was used to compare the risk of subsequent CVD event and all‐cause mortality, stratified by history of CVD. In the secondary analysis among patients with statin‐related ADR, treatment changes within a 1‐year period following the ADR were examined and the outcomes were compared between different treatment groups. RESULTS: Among 1 564 687 statin users, 19 035 (1.22%) had a statin‐related ADR consultation in primary care. The mean (standard deviation) follow‐up time was 6.32 (3.74) years and 5.31 (3.83) years for CVD primary and secondary prevention cohorts, respectively. Statin‐related ADR consultation was associated with subsequent CVD events in both cohorts (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] of 1.39 [95% CI 1.23, 1.57] and 1.34 [95% CI 1.25,1.42], respectively). In the secondary analysis among patients with statin‐related ADR consultation, we found that (i) continued statin prescription or combination of any statin with additional lipid‐lowering treatment (LLT) and (ii) other LLT only were associated with lower risks of CVD event (adjusted HR 0.71 [95% CI 0.64, 0.78] and 0.75 [95% CI 0.62, 0.92], respectively) and all‐cause mortality (adjusted HR 0.46 [95% CI 0.42, 0.50] and 0.52 [95% CI, 0.43, 0.64], respectively), compared to discontinuation of all LLT. CONCLUSION: Statin‐related ADR was associated with an increased risk of subsequent CVD event, indicating that these patients should be monitored more closely. Continued lipid‐lowering medication is of importance to protect against CVD events and mortality.