Is race or ethnicity associated with under- utilization of statins among women in the United States: The study of women’s health across the nation

Abstract

BackgroundRates of statin use among minority women are unclear.HypothesisWe hypothesized that statin use would vary by race/ethnicity with lower rates among minority women compared with Whites.MethodsData from the study of women’s health across the nation, a multiethnic cohort of women collected between 2009 to 2011 were used to examine reported statin use by race/ethnicity and risk profile. Multivariable logistic modeling was performed to estimate the odds ratio (OR) of statin treatment.ResultsOf the 2399 women included, 234 had a diagnosis of atherosclerotic disease (ASCVD), 254 were diabetic (without ASCVD), 163 had an LDL - ¥190- mg/dL, and 151 had a 10 year ASCVD pooled risk score - ¥7.5%. Statins were used by 49.6% of women with CVD; 59.8% of women with diabetes without known ASCVD; 42.3% of women with an LDL - ¥190- mg/dL; and 19.9% of women with an ASCVD risk - ¥7.5%. Rates of statin use were 43.8% for women with - ¥ two prior ASCVD events and 69.4% for women with - ¥ one prior ASCVD event plus multiple high- risk conditions. Among women eligible for statins, Black women had a significantly reduced adjusted odds of being on a statin (OR 0.53, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.36- 0.78) compared with White women.ConclusionsIn this cohort of multiethnic women, rates of statin use among women who would benefit were low, with Black women having lower odds of statin use than White women.