Bottom Line: African American patients were less likely to receive guideline-appropriate statin therapy than white patients and the difference can be explained by a combination of demographic and clinical characteristics, socioeconomic status, patient beliefs and clinician factors.
Why The Research Is Interesting: African American individuals are at higher risk of hardening and narrowing of the arteries than white individuals, although reasons for this difference are unknown.
Who and When : 5,689 patients in a nationwide registry who were eligible for statin therapy and who have, or are at high risk for, atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
What (Study Measures and Outcomes): Use and dosing of statin therapy according to the 2013 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guideline by race (African American or white)
How (Study Design) : This was a registry-based study.
Authors: Michael G. Nanna, M.D., Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, and coauthors
Results: African Americans patients were slightly less likely than white individuals to receive statins overall and less likely to receive statins at guideline-recommended intensity, although different perceptions and beliefs regarding statin therapy, demographics, clinical characteristics, socioeconomic status and lower frequency of care by cardiologists accounted for the differences.
Study Limitations: Researchers didn't assess the reasoning behind clinician decisions to prescribe or not prescribe statin therapy; therefore, it is possible that there could have been contraindications to therapy in both African American and white participants or patient refusal.
Related material: The Editor's Note, " Addressing Cardiovascular Disease Disparities - Are We Getting Closer to the Truth? " by Clyde W. Yancy, M.D., M.Sc., Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, and Deputy Editor, JAMA Cardiology , is also available on the For The Media website .
To Learn More: The full study is available on the For The Media website .
(doi:10.1001/jamacardio.2018.1511)
Editor's Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.
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JAMA Cardiology