Use of Statins in Kidney Transplant Recipients in Norway

Marit Rønning, Vidar Hjellvik, Solveig Sakshaug, Hege Salvesen Blix, Karsten Midtvedt, Anna Varberg Reisæter, Hallvard Holdaas and Anders Åsberg
Additional contact information
Marit Rønning: Department of Drug Statistics, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, 0213 Oslo, Norway
Vidar Hjellvik: Department of Chronic Diseases and Ageing, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, 0213 Oslo, Norway
Solveig Sakshaug: Department of Drug Statistics, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, 0213 Oslo, Norway
Hege Salvesen Blix: Department of Drug Statistics, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, 0213 Oslo, Norway
Karsten Midtvedt: Department of Transplantation Medicine, Oslo University Hospital, Rikshospitalet, 0424 Oslo, Norway
Anna Varberg Reisæter: Department of Transplantation Medicine, Oslo University Hospital, Rikshospitalet, 0424 Oslo, Norway
Hallvard Holdaas: Department of Transplantation Medicine, Oslo University Hospital, Rikshospitalet, 0424 Oslo, Norway
Anders Åsberg: Department of Pharmacy, The Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Oslo, 0316 Oslo, Norway

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 3, 1-10

Abstract: Kidney transplant recipients (KTRs) experience increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Guidelines recommend HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor (statin) therapy when tolerated. We aimed to study changes in the prescription of statins and patients’ adherence to treatment over time. A population-based observational study utilizing linked data from the Norwegian Renal Registry (national coverage of 99.9%) and the Norwegian Prescription Database was performed. Data from a total of 2250 first KTRs were included (mean age—54 years, 69% men). Dispensed prescriptions of statins and immunosuppressants for the period 2004–2016 for all first KTRs engrafted in the period 2005–2015 were analyzed. Seventy-two percent received statins the first year after kidney transplantation and the proportion increased with age. The proportion receiving a statin varied according to the time frame of transplantation (77% in 2005–2010 vs. 66% in 2012–2015). Among new users of statins, 82% of the patients were adherent both the second and third year after kidney transplantation, while the corresponding figure for those already receiving statins before transplantation was 97%. Statin continuation rates in KTRs were high. In conclusion, our findings show a slightly lower overall proportion of patients receiving statins after kidney transplants than the national target level of 80%. The proportion of statin users increased with the age of the KTRs but showed a decreasing trend as time progressed.

Keywords: kidney transplant recipients; cardiovascular disease; statins; prescriptions; medication appropriateness; medication adherence; pharmacoepidemiology (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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