Prevalence and factors associated with statin use in high-risk patients with type 1 diabetes from a specialized diabetes unit.

Introduction: The use of statins in non-selected type 1 diabetes (T1D) populations is low. We assessed the prevalence and factors associated with statin treatment in patients meeting criteria for this therapy for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD).
Material and Methods: From 2015 to 2018, T1D patients from a tertiary hospital were selected. Inclusion criteria were: ≥40 years-old, diabetic nephropathy, or T1D duration ≥10 years with ≥1 cardiovascular risk factor (CVRF). A standardized cardiovascular risk evaluation protocol was performed. Prevalence of statin treatment was evaluated according to presence of several CVRFs, and multivariable models were constructed to assess independent determinants of statin use.
Results: We included 241 patients (50% women, age 48.2±9.9 years, T1D duration 26.6±9.0 years). Diabetic retinopathy and nephropathy, active smoking, and hypertension were present in 38%, 12%, 28%, and 27%, respectively. Overall, 43% of patients were on statins and 27% had LDL-cholesterol <100mg/dl. Statin users were older, and had higher body mass index (BMI), prevalence of kidney dysfunction, and hypertension (p<0.05 for all). However, among both T1D-related and classical CVRFs, only hypertension (odds ratio [OR], 2.96; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.48-5.91) and BMI (OR, 1.08; CI, 1.01-1.16) were independently associated with statin use in multiple regression analysis.
Conclusions: Less than half of T1D patients from a tertiary hospital who met criteria for statin use were on treatment. Hypertension and BMI emerged as the only CVRFs independently associated with statin therapy. New strategies are needed to better address CVD prevention in this very high-risk population.
(Copyright © 2019 SEEN y SED. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)