Published Mar 31, 2014

Groningen, The Netherlands - Statins are lipid-lowering drugs that reduce the risk of cardiovascular events. Preventive treatment with statins is recommended for almost all type 2 diabetes patients since their risk of developing cardiovascular disease is high. Researchers from the University of Groningen assessed the cost-effectiveness of statin treatment in type 2 diabetes patients using cardiovascular risk estimates and adherence levels retrieved from actual practice patient data. Although cost-effectiveness estimates from trials indicate that lipid-lowering treatment is efficient, calculations based on actual medical practice are lacking. Such data are needed to support treatment decisions because both non-adherence to treatment in daily practice and the use of treatment for primary prevention in younger, low-risk groups may negatively affect the cost-effectiveness estimates. In the study, “Cost-Effectiveness of Statins for Primary Prevention in Patients Newly Diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes in The Netherlands,” published in Value in Health, the researchers indicated that statin treatment is not expected to be cost-effective for diabetes patients below 45 years of age. In contrast, it is highly cost-effective for patients aged more than 55 years also with the levels of non-adherence seen in actual practice. “Our study implies that the efficiency of statin treatment in diabetes care can be increased by targeting only patients with relatively higher baseline cardiovascular risk at corresponding higher ages.” said Dianna de Vries, PhD student at the University Groningen, and lead author on the study.

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