Table 2.
Discontinuation of statin treatment in secondary prevention group. Descriptive statistics shown for all included patients, patients who continued, who discontinued, and patients who restarted statin treatment. Data are no (%) of patients unless stated otherwise. SD=standard deviation
| Initiated (n=139 314) | Continued (n=81 523) | Discontinued (n=57 791) | Restarted (n=43 211) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age at study entry | ||||
| <45 years | 4158 (3.0) | 2167 (2.7) | 1991 (3.4) | 1629 (3.8) |
| 45-54 years | 15 051 (10.8) | 8923 (10.9) | 6128 (10.6) | 5063 (11.7) |
| 55-64 years | 32 620 (23.4) | 19 995 (24.5) | 12 625 (21.8) | 10 236 (23.7) |
| 65-74 years | 44 055 (31.6) | 26 113 (32.0) | 17 942 (31.0) | 13 580 (31.4) |
| 75-84 years | 43 430 (31.2) | 24 325 (29.8) | 19 105 (33.1) | 12 703 (29.4) |
| Mean (SD; years) | 67.4 (11.0) | 67.2 (10.8) | 67.7 (11.2) | 66.8 (11.3) |
| Sex | ||||
| Men | 82 485 (59.2) | 50 353 (61.8) | 32 132 (55.6) | 24 472 (56.6) |
| Women | 56 829 (40.8) | 31 170 (38.2) | 25 659 (44.4) | 18 739 (43.4) |
| Ethnicity | ||||
| Ethnicity recorded | 93 587 (67.2) | 54 495 (66.8) | 39 092 (67.6) | 29 332 (67.9) |
| White or not recorded | 136 259 (97.8) | 79 986 (98.1) | 56 273 (97.4) | 41 961 (97.1) |
| Indian | 953 (0.7) | 479 (0.6) | 474 (0.8) | 394 (0.9) |
| Pakistani | 422 (0.3) | 218 (0.3) | 204 (0.4) | 174 (0.4) |
| Bangladeshi | 121 (0.1) | 67 (0.1) | 54 (0.1) | 50 (0.1) |
| Other Asian | 229 (0.2) | 106 (0.1) | 123 (0.2) | 102 (0.2) |
| Black African | 165 (0.1) | 79 (0.1) | 86 (0.1) | 69 (0.2) |
| Black Caribbean | 368 (0.3) | 146 (0.2) | 222 (0.4) | 187 (0.4) |
| Chinese | 123 (0.1) | 71 (0.1) | 52 (0.1) | 41 (0.1) |
| Other ethnic group | 674 (0.5) | 371 (0.5) | 303 (0.5) | 233 (0.5) |
| Smoking status | ||||
| Patients with smoking status recorded | 139 233 (99.9) | 81 479 (99.9) | 57 754 (99.9) | 43 194 (100.0) |
| Non-smoker | 59 686 (42.8) | 34 565 (42.4) | 25 121 (43.5) | 18 350 (42.5) |
| Ex-smoker | 56 325 (40.4) | 34 288 (42.1) | 22 037 (38.1) | 16 445 (38.1) |
| Light smoker | 5690 (4.1) | 3157 (3.9) | 2533 (4.4) | 2020 (4.7) |
| Moderate smoker | 12 281 (8.8) | 6752 (8.3) | 5529 (9.6) | 4324 (10.0) |
| Heavy smoker | 5251 (3.8) | 2717 (3.3) | 2534 (4.4) | 2055 (4.8) |
| Clinical measurements | ||||
| Patients with body mass index recorded | 134 436 (96.5) | 78 635 (96.5) | 55 801 (96.6) | 41 982 (97.2) |
| Body mass index (mean (SD)) | 27.6 (5.1) | 27.7 (5.0) | 27.5 (5.2) | 27.7 (5.2) |
| Patients with systolic blood pressure recorded | 139 283 (100) | 81508 (100.0) | 57 775 (100.0) | 43 209 (100) |
| Systolic blood pressure (mean (SD)) | 137.8 (20.3) | 137.1 (20.4) | 138.7 (20.2) | 138.7 (20.2) |
| Patients with ratio recorded | 70 278 (50.4) | 42 124 (51.7) | 28 154 (48.7) | 20 679 (47.9) |
| Total cholesterol:high density lipoprotein ratio (mean (SD)) | 3.8 (1.3) | 3.8 (1.3) | 3.9 (1.3) | 3.9 (1.3) |
| Chronic conditions | ||||
| Rheumatoid arthritis | 2950 (2.1) | 1663 (2.0) | 1287 (2.2) | 930 (2.2) |
| Chronic renal disease | 1131 (0.8) | 623 (0.8) | 508 (0.9) | 331 (0.8) |
| Liver disease | 757 (0.5) | 405 (0.5) | 352 (0.6) | 245 (0.6) |
| Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease | 9058 (6.5) | 4892 (6.0) | 4166 (7.2) | 3030 (7.0) |
| Cancer | 14 090 (10.1) | 8092 (9.9) | 5998 (10.4) | 4077 (9.4) |
| Atrial fibrillation | 12 091 (8.7) | 7030 (8.6) | 5061 (8.8) | 3388 (7.8) |
| Hypertension | 63 610 (45.7) | 36 824 (45.2) | 26 786 (46.3) | 19 723 (45.6) |
| Heart failure | 8693 (6.2) | 5169 (6.3) | 3524 (6.1) | 2397 (5.5) |
| Type 1 diabetes | 1501 (1.1) | 805 (1.0) | 696 (1.2) | 535 (1.2) |
| Type 2 diabetes | 15 472 (11.1) | 8858 (10.9) | 6614 (11.4) | 4949 (11.5) |
| Dementia | 1165 (0.8) | 729 (0.9) | 436 (0.8) | 220 (0.5) |
| Genetic characteristics | ||||
| Family history of premature coronary heart disease | 8076 (5.8) | 4800 (5.9) | 3276 (5.7) | 2537 (5.9) |
| Familial hypercholesterolaemia | 46 (0.0) | 19 (0.0) | 27 (0.0) | 20 (0.0) |
| Use of other treatments | ||||
| Aspirin | 101 146 (72.6) | 60 684 (74.4) | 40 462 (70.0) | 30 179 (69.8) |
| Anticoagulants | 10 744 (7.7) | 6354 (7.8) | 4390 (7.6) | 3023 (7.0) |
| No of other non-cardiovascular treatments | 2.3 (1.6) | 2.3 (1.6) | 2.4 (1.6) | 2.4 (1.6) |
| Townsend score (patient based) | ||||
| Patients with data recorded | 84 404 (60.6) | 49 293 (60.5) | 35 111 (60.8) | 26 092 (60.4) |
| Group 1 (most affluent) | 18 966 (13.6) | 11 286 (13.8) | 7680 (13.3) | 5613 (13.0) |
| Group 2 | 19 647 (14.1) | 11 491 (14.1) | 8156 (14.1) | 5922 (13.7) |
| Group 3 | 17 905 (12.9) | 10 544 (12.9) | 7361 (12.7) | 5439 (12.6) |
| Group 4 | 16 898 (12.1) | 9639 (11.8) | 7259 (12.6) | 5503 (12.7) |
| Group 5 (most deprived) | 10 988 (7.9) | 6333 (7.8) | 4655 (8.1) | 3615 (8.4) |
| Townsend score (practice based) | ||||
| Group 1 (most affluent) | 22 887 (16.4) | 13 399 (16.4) | 9488 (16.4) | 7057 (16.3) |
| Group 2 | 25 379 (18.2) | 14 988 (18.4) | 10 391 (18.0) | 7811 (18.1) |
| Group 3 | 28 498 (20.5) | 16 669 (20.4) | 11 829 (20.5) | 8673 (20.1) |
| Group 4 | 32 131 (23.1) | 18 752 (23.0) | 13 379 (23.2) | 10 002 (23.1) |
| Group 5 (most deprived) | 30 419 (21.8) | 17 715 (21.7) | 12 704 (22.0) | 9668 (22.4) |
| Statin use at baseline | ||||
| Simvastatin | 95 198 (68.3) | 55 598 (68.2) | 39 600 (68.5) | 29 194 (67.6) |
| Atorvastatin | 34 155 (24.5) | 20 653 (25.3) | 13 502 (23.4) | 10 405 (24.1) |
| Pravastatin | 6858 (4.9) | 3656 (4.5) | 3202 (5.5) | 2446 (5.7) |
| Rosuvastatin | 2236 (1.6) | 1199 (1.5) | 1037 (1.8) | 802 (1.9) |
| Fluvastatin | 867 (0.6) | 417 (0.5) | 450 (0.8) | 364 (0.8) |
| Statin dose at baseline (potency units) | ||||
| Less than 1 | 16 397 (11.8) | 8202 (10.1) | 8195 (14.2) | 6210 (14.4) |
| One | 52 159 (37.4) | 28 090 (34.5) | 24 069 (41.6) | 18 315 (42.4) |
| Two | 60 512 (43.4) | 37 509 (46.0) | 23 003 (39.8) | 16 826 (38.9) |
| Three and more | 10 246 (7.4) | 7722 (9.5) | 2524 (4.4) | 1860 (4.3) |