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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2024 Jun 5.
Published in final edited form as: Ann Intern Med. 2023 Dec 5;176(12):1684–1688. doi: 10.7326/M23-1915

Table 1.

Cohort Characteristics

Overall* Indication for Primary Prevention Statin
Unweighted N 21,691 9,895
Weighted N, billions (95% CI) 1.96 (1.89 to 2.03) 0.70 (0.66 to 0.73)
% of Overall, (95% CI) 100 35.6 (34.5 to 36.8)

Demographics, % (95% CI)
Age category, y
20–39 40.0 (38.9 to 41.2) 2.2 (1.7 to 2.6)
40–59 38.8 (37.8 to 39.8) 43.6 (42.1 to 45.1)
60–74 15.8 (15.0 to 16.7) 39.4 (37.9 to 40.9)
≥ 75 5.3 (5.0 to 5.7) 14.9 (13.9 to 15.8)
Female 51.8 (51.1 to 52.5) 47.8 (46.4 to 49.1)
Race/ethnicity
Asian 2.5 (2.1 to 2.9) 2.3 (1.9 to 2.7)
Black 12.0 (10.0 to 12.2) 11.6 (10.2 to 13.0)
Hispanic 14.2 (12.6 to 15.8) 10.6 (9.0 to 12.1)
Other/Multi-Racial 4.5 (3.9 to 5.0) 3.7 (3.1 to 4.3)
White 67.8 (65.6 to 69.9) 71.8 (69.5 to 74.2)
Education
<12th Grade 16.6 (15.6 to 17.6) 19.9 (18.6 to 21.3)
High School Graduate 23.9 (22.8 to 25.0) 26.6 (25.0 to 28.2)
Some College 31.1 (30.0 to 31.1) 28.6 (28.0 to 30.1)
College Graduate 28.3 (26.7 to 30.0) 24.8 (23.0 to 26.6)
Health insurance
Commercial 51.1 (49.8 to 52.4) 37.9 (36.3 to 40.0)
Medicaid 5.7 (5.1 to 6.2) 5.4 (4.7 to 6.2)
Medicare 17.1 (16.3 to 17.9) 35.6 (34.2 to 37.0)
Other 7.5 (6.9 to 8.1) 9.8 (8.7 to 10.9)
Uninsured 18.7 (17.6 to 19.7) 11.3 (10.3 to 12.3)
Received healthcare in the past year 81.0 (80.1 to 81.8) 89.0 (88.1 to 90.0)
Usual source of healthcare 82.6 (81.8 to 83.3) 89.2 (88.2 to 90.0)
Body mass index, kg/m2
<18.5 1.8 (1.5 to 2.0) 1.0 (0.7 to 1.3)
18.5–24.9 30.1 (29.6 to 31.7) 22.9 (21.6 to 24.2)
25–29.9 33.0 (32.1 to 33.9) 35.5 (34.1 to 37.0)
≥ 30 34.6 (33.5 to 35.7) 40.6 (39.1 to 42.0)
Smoking in past year 21.1 (20.0 to 22.2) 22.2 (20.8 to 23.6)
Indication for Statin for Primary Prevention, % (95% CI) *
Any Indication 35.6 (34.4 to 36.8) 100
LDL≥190 mg/dL 3.6 (3.3 to 4.0) 10.2 (9.2 to 11.1)
Diabetes 9.0 (8.5 to 9.5) 25.3 (24.0 to 26.6)
ASCVD Risk ≥ 20% 7.8 (7.3 to 8.3) 22.0 (20.7 to 23.3)
ASCVD Risk 7.5% to 19.9% 9.9 (9.3 to 10.6) 27.9 (26.5 to 29.3)
ASCVD Risk 5.0% to 7.5% 5.2 (4.8 to 5.7) 14.7 (13.9 to 15.8)

Note: Missing values were imputed using multiple imputation, including: smoking status (N=24), body mass index (n=344), received healthcare in the past year (N=13).

*

Overall cohort consists of participants meeting all eligibility criteria and without a secondary prevention indication for statin use.

Baseline ASCVD risk scores for adults taking statins were calculated using a correction factor for each statin based on prior meta-analysis data (Naci H, Brugts JJ, Fleurence R, Ades AE. Dose-comparative effects of different statins on serum lipid levels: a network meta-analysis of 256,827 individuals in 181 randomized controlled trials. Eur J Prev Cardiol. 2013;20(4):658–670. doi:10.1177/2047487313483600

Individual indication categories were mutually exclusive. Adults who met multiple primary prevention indications by AHA/ACC guidelines were assigned by the highest criteria met, consistent with guideline hierarchy (LDL-C criteria > diabetes status > ASCVD risk).1