Prevalence of statin use among high-risk patients in urban and rural Vellore, Tamil Nadu: A population-based cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVES This study assessed statin use among diabetics and those with coronary heart disease (CHD) in Vellore, Tamil Nadu. METHODS A cross-sectional survey was conducted in rural and urban Vellore, among 6196 participants (30-64 years), in 2010-2012. Statin use among those with known CHD and diabetes (on diabetic medication) was recorded. A randomly selected sample of rural diabetics was resurveyed in 2016 to reassess statin use. RESULTS Among 61 with CHD, 23 (37.7%) were on statins. Statin use among 422 diabetics aged ≥40 years with low-density lipoprotein ≥70 mg/dl was 13.4% in urban and 7.6% among rural. Statin usage among rural diabetics aged ≥40 years increased from 7.7% in 2010-2012 to 16.6% in 2016. CONCLUSIONS Statin use for CHD was below 50% although higher than the use among diabetics, indicating the need to address this low rate of usage among these high-risk groups.