Statins: Adherence and side-effects

dc.contributor.authorBlom, D J
dc.date.accessioned2016-04-06T13:18:24Z
dc.date.available2016-04-06T13:18:24Z
dc.date.issued2011
dc.date.updated2016-04-06T08:14:20Z
dc.description.abstractMany patients either do not adhere to, or fail to persist with, long-term lipid-lowering therapy. This unfavourable medication utilisation behaviour compromises potential treatment benefit. In retrospective studies, patients aged 50-65 had the highest adherence rates, while both younger and older patients had lower rates. Patients with pre-existing cardiovascular disease adhere better than those in primary prevention. Financial barriers may impair adherence. At the individual patient level, health beliefs, perceptions of own cardiovascular risk and need for medication, concerns about side-effects and inconvenience of treatment may influence adherence. In clinical trials, regular reminders to patients have been shown to improve adherence, but each patient will require an individually tailored treatment strategy. Myopathy is the most common clinically relevant adverse effect of statins. The clinical severity of statin myopathy is highly variable, ranging from mild muscle ache to rare instances of rhabdomyolysis. Risk factors for statin myopathy include age, statin dose, hypothyroidism, medications that inhibit statin metabolism, combined statin and fibrate therapy, and renal impairment. Alternative causes of myopathy should be excluded before muscular symptoms are ascribed to statins. The management of statin myopathy is guided by the severity of symptoms and the creatine kinase level. Potential management strategies include statin dechallenge and rechallenge, statin dose reduction, statin switching, non-daily dosing and use of alternative lipid-lowering agents, such as ezetimibe. Statins rarely cause severe liver disease. Mild liver enzyme elevations are seen relatively frequently in patients starting statins, but are usually not clinically important. Patients with persistently elevated liver enzymes should be investigated to determine the cause of liver disease. Patients with stable, well-compensated liver disease can be prescribed statins, provided they are closely monitored.en_ZA
dc.identifierhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1080/20786204.2011.10874087
dc.identifier.apacitationBlom, D. J. (2011). Statins: Adherence and side-effects. <i>South African Family Practice</i>, http://hdl.handle.net/11427/18666en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationBlom, D J "Statins: Adherence and side-effects." <i>South African Family Practice</i> (2011) http://hdl.handle.net/11427/18666en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationBlom, D. J. (2011). Statins: adherence and side-effects. South African Family Practice, 53(3), 205-215.en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn1726-426Xen_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Journal Article AU - Blom, D J AB - Many patients either do not adhere to, or fail to persist with, long-term lipid-lowering therapy. This unfavourable medication utilisation behaviour compromises potential treatment benefit. In retrospective studies, patients aged 50-65 had the highest adherence rates, while both younger and older patients had lower rates. Patients with pre-existing cardiovascular disease adhere better than those in primary prevention. Financial barriers may impair adherence. At the individual patient level, health beliefs, perceptions of own cardiovascular risk and need for medication, concerns about side-effects and inconvenience of treatment may influence adherence. In clinical trials, regular reminders to patients have been shown to improve adherence, but each patient will require an individually tailored treatment strategy. Myopathy is the most common clinically relevant adverse effect of statins. The clinical severity of statin myopathy is highly variable, ranging from mild muscle ache to rare instances of rhabdomyolysis. Risk factors for statin myopathy include age, statin dose, hypothyroidism, medications that inhibit statin metabolism, combined statin and fibrate therapy, and renal impairment. Alternative causes of myopathy should be excluded before muscular symptoms are ascribed to statins. The management of statin myopathy is guided by the severity of symptoms and the creatine kinase level. Potential management strategies include statin dechallenge and rechallenge, statin dose reduction, statin switching, non-daily dosing and use of alternative lipid-lowering agents, such as ezetimibe. Statins rarely cause severe liver disease. Mild liver enzyme elevations are seen relatively frequently in patients starting statins, but are usually not clinically important. Patients with persistently elevated liver enzymes should be investigated to determine the cause of liver disease. Patients with stable, well-compensated liver disease can be prescribed statins, provided they are closely monitored. DA - 2011 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town J1 - South African Family Practice LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2011 SM - 1726-426X T1 - Statins: Adherence and side-effects TI - Statins: Adherence and side-effects UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/18666 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/18666
dc.identifier.urihttp://www.safpj.co.za/index.php/safpj/article/view/1688
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationBlom DJ. Statins: Adherence and side-effects. South African Family Practice. 2011; http://hdl.handle.net/11427/18666.en_ZA
dc.languageengen_ZA
dc.publisherSouth African Academy of Family Physiciansen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentDivision of Lipidologyen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Health Sciencesen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.rightsCreative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 South Africa License*
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/za/en_ZA
dc.sourceSouth African Family Practiceen_ZA
dc.source.urihttp://www.safpj.co.za/index.php/safpj
dc.subject.otheradherence
dc.subject.otherstatin myopathy
dc.subject.otherstatin hepatotoxicity
dc.titleStatins: Adherence and side-effectsen_ZA
dc.typeJournal Articleen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceArticleen_ZA
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