Table 1.
Discontinuation of statin treatment in primary prevention group. Descriptive statistics shown for all included patients, patients who continued, patients who discontinued, and patients who restarted statin treatment. Data are No (%) of patients unless stated otherwise. SD=standard deviation
| Initiated (n=431 023) | Continued (n=226 401) | Discontinued (n=204 622) | Restarted (n=147 305) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age at study entry | ||||
| <45 years | 31 290 (7.3) | 12 303 (5.4) | 18 987 (9.3) | 14 627 (9.9) |
| 45-54 years | 77 770 (18.0) | 37 191 (16.4) | 40 579 (19.8) | 31 203 (21.2) |
| 55-64 years | 140 042 (32.5) | 76 395 (33.7) | 63 647 (31.1) | 47 593 (32.3) |
| 65-74 years | 129 429 (30.0) | 72 574 (32.1) | 56 855 (27.8) | 39 366 (26.7) |
| 75-84 years | 52 492 (12.2) | 27 938 (12.3) | 24 554 (12.0) | 14 516 (9.9) |
| Mean (SD; years) | 61.7 (11.0) | 62.5 (10.4) | 60.8 (11.6) | 59.9 (11.4) |
| Sex | ||||
| Men | 225 732 (52.4) | 120 423 (53.2) | 105 309 (51.5) | 77 786 (52.8) |
| Women | 205 291 (47.6) | 105 978 (46.8) | 99 313 (48.5) | 69 519 (47.2) |
| Ethnicity | ||||
| Ethnicity recorded | 277 935 (64.5) | 144 238 (63.7) | 133 697 (65.3) | 96 516 (65.5) |
| White or not recorded | 415 392 (96.4) | 220 234 (97.3) | 195 158 (95.4) | 139 549 (94.7) |
| Indian | 4306 (1.0) | 1730 (0.8) | 2576 (1.3) | 2160 (1.5) |
| Pakistani | 1786 (0.4) | 672 (0.3) | 1114 (0.5) | 944 (0.6) |
| Bangladeshi | 642 (0.1) | 265 (0.1) | 377 (0.2) | 319 (0.2) |
| Other Asian | 1881 (0.4) | 783 (0.3) | 1098 (0.5) | 884 (0.6) |
| Black African | 1358 (0.3) | 457 (0.2) | 901 (0.4) | 721 (0.5) |
| Black Caribbean | 1882 (0.4) | 633 (0.3) | 1249 (0.6) | 1044 (0.7) |
| Chinese | 619 (0.1) | 283 (0.1) | 336 (0.2) | 257 (0.2) |
| Other ethnic group | 3157 (0.7) | 1344 (0.6) | 1813 (0.9) | 1427 (1.0) |
| Smoking status | ||||
| Patients with smoking status recorded | 430 792 (99.9) | 226 287 (99.9) | 204 505 (99.9) | 147 254 (100) |
| Non-smoker | 213 066 (49.4) | 112 101 (49.5) | 100 965 (49.3) | 72 160 (49.0) |
| Ex-smoker | 132 685 (30.8) | 73 179 (32.3) | 59 506 (29.1) | 42 114 (28.6) |
| Light smoker | 17 462 (4.1) | 8636 (3.8) | 8826 (4.3) | 6569 (4.5) |
| Moderate smoker | 45 214 (10.5) | 22 087 (9.8) | 23 127 (11.3) | 17 189 (11.7) |
| Heavy smoker | 22 365 (5.2) | 10 284 (4.5) | 12 081 (5.9) | 9222 (6.3) |
| Clinical measurements | ||||
| Patients with body mass index recorded | 419 303 (97.3) | 220 599 (97.4) | 198 704 (97.1) | 143 475 (97.4) |
| Body mass index (mean (SD)) | 28.9 (5.5) | 29.0 (5.5) | 28.8 (5.5) | 29.0 (5.5) |
| Patients with systolic blood pressure recorded | 430 891 (100) | 226 358 (100) | 204 533 (100) | 147 264 (100) |
| Systolic blood pressure (mean (SD)) | 141.0 (18.3) | 141.5 (18.2) | 140.5 (18.5) | 140.5 (18.4) |
| Patients with ratio recorded | 283 855 (65.9) | 152 720 (67.5) | 131 135 (64.1) | 92 820 (63.0) |
| Total cholesterol:high density lipoprotein ratio (mean (SD)) | 4.4 (1.5) | 4.3 (1.5) | 4.5 (1.5) | 4.5 (1.5) |
| Chronic conditions | ||||
| Rheumatoid arthritis | 6684 (1.6) | 3459 (1.5) | 3225 (1.6) | 2256 (1.5) |
| Chronic renal disease | 2916 (0.7) | 1413 (0.6) | 1503 (0.7) | 1039 (0.7) |
| Liver disease | 2017 (0.5) | 988 (0.4) | 1029 (0.5) | 708 (0.5) |
| Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease | 15 294 (3.5) | 8266 (3.7) | 7028 (3.4) | 4766 (3.2) |
| Cancer | 32 365 (7.5) | 17 551 (7.8) | 14 814 (7.2) | 9670 (6.6) |
| Atrial fibrillation | 13 754 (3.2) | 8043 (3.6) | 5711 (2.8) | 3641 (2.5) |
| Hypertension | 217 632 (50.5) | 122 573 (54.1) | 95 059 (46.5) | 68 418 (46.4) |
| Heart failure | 5078 (1.2) | 2954 (1.3) | 2124 (1.0) | 1338 (0.9) |
| Type 1 diabetes | 9960 (2.3) | 4420 (2.0) | 5540 (2.7) | 4632 (3.1) |
| Type 2 diabetes | 100 848 (23.4) | 56 338 (24.9) | 44 510 (21.8) | 35 359 (24.0) |
| Dementia | 1629 (0.4) | 990 (0.4) | 639 (0.3) | 282 (0.2) |
| Genetic characteristics | ||||
| Family history of premature coronary heart disease | 30 734 (7.1) | 16 158 (7.1) | 14 576 (7.1) | 10 731 (7.3) |
| Familial hypercholesterolaemia | 1364 (0.3) | 699 (0.3) | 665 (0.3) | 504 (0.3) |
| Use of other treatments | ||||
| Aspirin | 102 743 (23.8) | 54 467 (24.1) | 48 276 (23.6) | 33 316 (22.6) |
| Anticoagulants | 11 906 (2.8) | 7030 (3.1) | 4876 (2.4) | 3150 (2.1) |
| No of other non-cardiovascular treatments | 2.0 (1.6) | 2.0 (1.6) | 2.1 (1.6) | 2.0 (1.6) |
| QRISK2 score | ||||
| 0-4% | 30 062 (7.0) | 11 473 (5.1) | 18 589 (9.1) | 13 368 (9.1) |
| 5-9% | 54 066 (12.5) | 25 802 (11.4) | 28 264 (13.8) | 21 032 (14.3) |
| 10-14% | 59 495 (13.8) | 30 897 (13.6) | 28 598 (14.0) | 21 279 (14.4) |
| 15-19% | 58 358 (13.5) | 31 541 (13.9) | 26 817 (13.1) | 19 877 (13.5) |
| 20-24% | 52 020 (12.1) | 28 629 (12.6) | 23 391 (11.4) | 17 124 (11.6) |
| 25-99% | 177 022 (41.1) | 98 059 (43.3) | 78 963 (38.6) | 54 625 (37.1) |
| Mean (SD; %) | 24.5 (16.2) | 25.4 (16.0) | 23.5 (16.4) | 22.9 (16.0) |
| Townsend score (patient based) | ||||
| Patients with data recorded | 266 055 (61.7) | 139 487 (61.6) | 126 568 (61.9) | 91 036 (61.8) |
| Group 1 (most affluent) | 65 226 (15.1) | 34 761 (15.4) | 30 465 (14.9) | 21 580 (14.6) |
| Group 2 | 62 581 (14.5) | 33 141 (14.6) | 29 440 (14.4) | 20 684 (14.0) |
| Group 3 | 54 715 (12.7) | 28 522 (12.6) | 26 193 (12.8) | 18 666 (12.7) |
| Group 4 | 50 631 (11.7) | 26 496 (11.7) | 24 135 (11.8) | 17 653 (12.0) |
| Group 5 (most deprived) | 32 902 (7.6) | 16 567 (7.3) | 16 335 (8.0) | 12 453 (8.5) |
| Townsend score (practice based) | ||||
| Group 1 (most affluent) | 77 164 (17.9) | 40 086 (17.7) | 37 078 (18.1) | 26 508 (18.0) |
| Group 2 | 81 744 (19.0) | 42 737 (18.9) | 39 007 (19.1) | 28 114 (19.1) |
| Group 3 | 87 529 (20.3) | 46 375 (20.5) | 41 154 (20.1) | 29 242 (19.9) |
| Group 4 | 94 933 (22.0) | 49 729 (22.0) | 45 204 (22.1) | 32 570 (22.1) |
| Group 5 (most deprived) | 89 653 (20.8) | 47 474 (21.0) | 42 179 (20.6) | 30 871 (21.0) |
| Statin use at baseline | ||||
| Simvastatin | 342 384 (79.4) | 181 249 (80.1) | 161 135 (78.7) | 114 281 (77.6) |
| Atorvastatin | 69 854 (16.2) | 35 655 (15.7) | 34 199 (16.7) | 25 975 (17.6) |
| Pravastatin | 9408 (2.2) | 4767 (2.1) | 4641 (2.3) | 3505 (2.4) |
| Rosuvastatin | 7937 (1.8) | 4014 (1.8) | 3923 (1.9) | 2985 (2.0) |
| Fluvastatin | 1440 (0.3) | 716 (0.3) | 724 (0.4) | 559 (0.4) |
| Statin dose at baseline (potency units) | ||||
| Less than 1 | 51 830 (12.0) | 25 929 (11.5) | 25 901 (12.7) | 18 969 (12.9) |
| One | 183 541 (42.6) | 94 815 (41.9) | 88 726 (43.4) | 65 015 (44.1) |
| Two | 190 623 (44.2) | 103 025 (45.5) | 87 598 (42.8) | 61 613 (41.8) |
| Three and more | 5029 (1.2) | 2632 (1.2) | 2397 (1.2) | 1708 (1.2) |