Adherence to statin therapy among patients with hypercholesterolemia in a tertiary health facility in south-south Nigeria

Background: Hypercholesterolemia may be a predictor of cardiovascular diseases and global prevalence of hypercholesterolemia is about 38%. Statins do not increase or decrease the risk of subsequent intracerebral hemorrhages, but do reduce the risk of ischemic stroke. Patients on statins for prevention of cardiovascular disease have an increased risk of cardiovascular events and mortality if they do not adhere to treatment.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the level of statin adherence among hypercholesterolemic patients in a tertiary health facility.

Methods: Three hundred and fifty-three hypercholesterolemic out-patients were recruited from a tertiary hospital through systematic random sampling. A validated self-reported questionnaire was used to obtain demographics characteristics, hypercholesterolemia profile and adherence to statin therapy. Data collected were organized and analysed using descriptive statistics and Chi square. Ethical considerations were observed.

Results: Response rate was 99.7%. Majority of the respondents were females (63.1%). Most of the patients had tertiary level of education (67.9%). A total of 168(47.7%) of the participants were private workers. Majority of the participants were urban dwellers (89.5%), 55.1% of the participants has cholesterol level greater than 200mg/dl. About 34.7% had an onset of the disease at age <40 and 68.2% of the participants had a family history of the disease. Atorvastatin was the most used statin drug (54.0%) followed by Rosuvastatin (34.1%) and lastly Simvastatin (11.9%). Hypertension is the most common comorbidity (89.5%) followed by diabetes (59.4%) and lastly myocardial infarction (6.0%). According to rate of adherence among participants, 57.1% showed moderate adherence while 42.9% showed non adherence.

Conclusion: This study has reported moderate adherence to statin, especially among patients with high educational status. Patients on rovastatin were more likely to take their medicine as prescribed than those on the other statins. Adherence apps on android devices are recommended.