Race/ethnic and sex differences in the initiation of non-statin lipid-lowering medication following myocardial infarction

Calvin L. Colvin, Bharat Poudel, Adam P. Bress, Catherine G. Derington, Jordan B. King, Ying Wen, Ligong Chen, Vera Bittner, Todd M. Brown, Keri L. Monda, Katherine E. Mues, Robert S. Rosenson, Elizabeth A. Jackson, Paul Muntner, Lisandro D. Colantonio

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

17 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: Adults with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) at very high-risk for recurrent events who have low-density lipoprotein cholesterol ≥ 70 mg/dL despite maximally-tolerated statin therapy are recommended to initiate ezetimibe or a proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) inhibitor. Objective: Compare the initiation of ezetimibe and a PCSK9 inhibitor after a myocardial infarction (MI) among very high-risk ASCVD patients by race/ethnicity and sex. Methods: We analyzed data from 374,786 adults ≥ 66 years of age with Medicare fee-for-service coverage who had an MI between July 1, 2015 and December 31, 2018, were not taking ezetimibe or a PCSK9 inhibitor, and had very high-risk ASCVD defined by the 2018 American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology multi-society cholesterol guideline. Pharmacy claims through December 31, 2018 were used to determine ezetimibe and PCSK9 inhibitor initiation. Results: Overall, 6980 (1.9%) beneficiaries initiated ezetimibe, and 1433 (0.4%) initiated a PCSK9 inhibitor. Adjusted hazard ratios (aHR) for ezetimibe initiation among non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic, and Asian versus non-Hispanic White beneficiaries were 0.77 (95% confidence interval [95%CI]: 0.70–0.86), 0.92 (95%CI: 0.76–1.11) and 0.73 (95%CI: 0.59–0.89), respectively. Compared to non-Hispanic White beneficiaries, the aHRs for PCSK9 inhibitor initiation were 0.63 (95%CI: 0.48–0.81) among non-Hispanic Black, 0.70 (95%CI: 0.43–1.13) among Hispanic, and 0.93 (95%CI: 0.62–1.39) among Asian beneficiaries. The aHRs for ezetimibe and PCSK9 inhibitor initiation comparing women to men were 1.11 (95%CI: 1.06–1.17) and 1.13 (95%CI: 1.01–1.25), respectively. Conclusion: There are race/ethnic and sex disparities in the initiation of ezetimibe and a PCSK9 inhibitor following MI among very high-risk ASCVD patients.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)665-673
Number of pages9
JournalJournal of Clinical Lipidology
Volume15
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Sep 2021

Keywords

  • ASCVD
  • Ezetimibe
  • Medicare
  • Myocardial infarction
  • PCSK9 inhibitors
  • Race
  • Sex

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