Statin Use among Persons 18 and Older in the U.S. Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population Reported as Receiving Medical Care for the Treatment of High Cholesterol, 2002. Statistical Brief No. 95

摘要

This Statistical Brief seeks to inform policymakers of subgroups of the U.S. civilian non-institutionalized population who used statins for the treatment of high cholesterol in 2002. Estimates of persons with high cholesterol who were using a statin are compared for selected demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, including age, race/ethnicity, and insurance status. The data used to produce the estimates in this brief are derived from the Household Component of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS-HC) for 2002. Data used to classify persons as to whether they had high cholesterol and whether they were taking a statin are based on information obtained from MEPS-HC respondents, who provided data for all members of their household, and the Multum Lexicon database. Persons with at least one reported medical event related to the treatment of high cholesterol were included in the analyses, and a person had to report at least one prescribed medicine purchase of a statin to be classified as a statin user. Free samples are not included in these estimates. Results discussed are statistically significant at the .05 level.