Adherence and persistence in the use of statins and ezetimibe over 8 years in a real-life study

Abstract

Background

Adherence and persistence to treatment are crucial in statin therapy as they are synonymous with efficacy and quality of care. The aim of this study was the real-life assessment of adherence and persistence over eight years in treatment-naive patients receiving atorvastatin, lovastatin, simvastatin, pravastatin, ezetimibe.

Methods

Adherence to treatment was calculated using the ‘proportion of days covered’ method and persistence as the difference between the start and end of the therapy under study.

Results

Treatment adherence was consistently above 85% for all drugs under study in each year. Treatment persistence was shown to half halved already from the first year.

Conclusion

Adherent patients had a higher persistence than non-adherent patients.

Keywords:

• Adherence
• persistence
• drug-used study
• statins

Transparency

Declaration of funding

This research received no external funding.

Declaration of financial/other relationships

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

Peer reviewers on this manuscript have no relevant financial or other relationships to disclose.

Author contributions

Conceptualization, F.S., A.R. and A.C.; methodology, F.S., A.R. and A.C.; validation, F.S., A.R. and A.C.; writing—review and editing, F.S., A.R. and A.C.; All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Notes

i ACCESS, Microsoft Office, Pescara, Italy.