Longitudinal trends and predictors of statin use among patients with diabetes

Aim Statins reduce morbidity and mortality among patients with diabetes, but their use remains suboptimal. Understanding trends in statin use may inform strategies for improvement. Methods We enrolled a national, retrospective cohort of 899,664 veterans aged ≥ 40 years with diabetes in 2003. We followed them through 2011, dividing the nine-year follow-up into 90-day periods. For each period, we determined statin use, defined as possession of ≥ 30-day supply. We examine factors associated with statin uptake among baseline non-users with a multivariate model. Results Baseline prevalence of statin use was 43%, increased by 1.8% per period (p for trend < 0.001), and reached a maximum of ~ 59%. Statin use among non-Hispanic racial/ethnic minorities lagged behind their white counterparts. Among baseline non-users, statin use was 9% after Year 1 and reached 36% by Year 9. Factors associated with statin uptake included use of hypoglycemic agents, HbA1c between 7 and 8.9% (53–74 mmol/mol), hypertension, heart failure, peripheral vascular disease, and Hispanic ethnicity. Conclusion Statin use is slowly increasing among patients with diabetes, and at varying rates within subgroups of this population. Policies that prioritize these subgroups for statin promotion may help guide future, intervention-based research to increase compliance with current guidelines.