Nearly half of older patients stop taking statins within a year, study finds

Nearly half of older patients prescribed statins stop taking them within a year, a large observational study1 has found.

Researchers analysed data for all adults aged 65 years and older who were dispensed at least one prescription for a statin over the two year period from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2015. The data came from the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, which collects information on the type, quantity, and timing of drugs dispensed to a randomly selected 10% sample of the Australian population covered by the country’s universal healthcare scheme.

Results, published …