Use of lipid-lowering drugs in restricted health access settings: Results from the Trends in Drug Utilization During COVID-19 Pandemic in Turkey (PANDUTI-TR) study.
Vascul Pharmacol
; 156: 107382, 2024 Sep.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38815702
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
COVID-19 restrictions prompted changes in chronic disease management and lifestyle modifications, potentially altering cardiometabolic indicators and lipid-lowering pharmacotherapy patterns. We aimed to assess lipid-lowering drug (LLD) utilization trends during COVID-19 restrictions.METHODS:
We obtained nationwide outpatient drug sales and prescribing data for 01.03.2018-31.12.2022 from IQVIA™ Turkey. We evaluated average monthly LLD consumption, their costs, and quarterly prescribing levels in three periods "before restrictions" (BfR, 01.03.2018-31.03.2020), "during restrictions" (DuR, 01.04.2020-31.03.2022), and "after restrictions" (AfR, 01.04.2022-31.12.2022). Drug utilization was measured via "defined daily dose/1000 inhabitants/day" (DID) metric.RESULTS:
LLD utilization increased from 25.4 ± 3.1 DID in BfR to 36.2 ± 6.8 DID in DuR (p < 0.001), and to 42.6 ± 5.3 DID in AfR (p < 0.001 vs. BfR). Statin consumption significantly rose from 22.0 ± 3.0 DID in BfR to 31.6 ± 6.3 DID in DuR (p < 0.001), and further to 37.6 ± 4.7 DID in AfR (p < 0.01 vs. DuR). High-intensity statin consumption elevated by 115.9% in AfR compared to baseline (p < 0.001). Prescribing of LLDs decreased from 12.5 ± 0.6 DID in BfR to 7.2 ± 1.2 DID in DuR (p < 0.001), later reached 13.6 ± 3.8 DID in AfR (p < 0.001 vs. DuR), with prescribing for ongoing users following similar trend. Expenditure on LLDs increased from 8.4 m ± 0.9 m in BfR to 11.4 m ± 2.0 m in DuR (p < 0.001) and to 12.8 m ± 1.9 m in AfR (p < 0.001 vs. BfR).CONCLUSIONS:
This study revealed a surge in consumption of LLDs in Turkey following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. This rise might be related to practices facilitating drug access, in addition to potentially greater adherence, or the necessity for more intense pharmacotherapy due to elevated cardiovascular risk.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
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Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
COVID-19
/
Hipolipemiantes
Limite:
Humans
País como assunto:
Asia
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2024
Tipo de documento:
Article