Use of Lipid-Lowering Drugs and Associated Outcomes According to Health State Profiles in Hospitalized Older Patients

Objective: To assess how lipid-lowering drugs (LLDs) are administered in the hospitalized patients aged 65 and older and their association with clinical outcomes according to their health-related profiles. Design: This is a retrospective study based on data from REPOSI (REgistro POliterapie SIMI - Italian Society of Internal Medicine) register, an Italian network of internal medicine hospital wards. Setting and Participants: A total of 4642 patients with a mean age of 79 years enrolled between 2010 and 2018. Methods: Socio-demographic characteristics, functional abilities, cognitive skills, laboratory parameters and comorbidities were used to investigate the health state profiles by using multiple correspondence analysis and clustering. Logistic regression was used to assess whether LLD prescription was associated with patients' health state profiles and with short-term mortality. Results: Four clusters of patients were identified according to their health state: two of them (Cluster III and IV) were the epitome of frailty conditions with poor short-term outcomes, whereas the others included healthier patients. The average prevalence of LLD use was 27.6%. The lowest prevalence was found among the healthier patients in Cluster I and among the oldest frail patients with severe functional and cognitive impairment in Cluster IV. The highest prevalence was among multimorbid patients in Cluster III (OR=4.50, 95% CI=3.76-5.38) characterized by a high cardiovascular risk. Being prescribed with LLDs was associated with a lower 3-month mortality, even after adjusting for cluster assignment (OR=0.59; 95% CI = 0.44-0.80). Conclusion: The prevalence of LLD prescription was low and in overall agreement with guideline recommendations and with respect to patients' health state profiles.

Automated summary

A study on lipid-lowering drug use in hospitalized patients aged 65 and older found low overall prevalence, but higher use among patients with higher cardiovascular risk. Prescription of LLDs was associated with lower 3-month mortality.