JW Pharmaceutical has released the results of its "Statin Treatment Awareness Survey" conducted among dyslipidemia patients and medical professionals. While dyslipidemia is a chronic condition requiring lifelong management, a significant share of patients believe they can stop taking medication once their low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels return to normal.
JW Pharmaceutical said Tuesday it surveyed 329 medical professionals with experience prescribing statins and 500 dyslipidemia patients aged 20 or older who had been prescribed and taken statins. The survey of medical staff was conducted from March 5 to 23 this year, while the patient survey ran from March 12 to 16, both through Opensurvey.
According to the results, 50.8% of patients said statins "only need to be taken until LDL-C levels normalize" or that "discontinuation can be considered after a certain period of use." Although stopping statins on one's own can cause cholesterol levels to rise again and increase cardiovascular disease risk, patient awareness of the need to continue treatment differed from that of medical professionals. While 90.3% of medical staff and 76.6% of patients agreed that discontinuing treatment could affect life expectancy through cardiovascular disease, the gap widened on those answering it has "a very significant impact," with 59.3% of medical staff and only 18.6% of patients agreeing.
Concerns about side effects emerged as a key barrier to continued treatment. Some 30.8% of patients said they had hesitated or refused to take statins despite being told treatment was necessary. The biggest reason was "concerns about side effects" at 50.1%. Among medical staff, 32.5% said they frequently encounter patients who refuse or hesitate to begin treatment.
Patients and medical professionals differed in the types of side effects they worried about. Medical staff cited muscle-related side effects (77.7%), elevated liver enzymes (55.4%) and elevated blood glucose (43.0%) in that order, while patients showed greater concern about elevated liver enzymes (52.6%) and blood glucose-related side effects (33.0%). Notably, 67.6% of patients had heard about statins' effect on blood glucose, and about half of them said they felt concerned about taking the medication as a result.
Medical professionals served as the main channel for information. Some 68.2% of patients said they obtain information about statins through medical staff, and 81.4% said they trust medical staff explanations the most. The need for additional information and communication on statin treatment was also high, cited by 86.4% of medical staff and 82.6% of patients.
Based on the survey results, JW Pharmaceutical plans to address the awareness gap between patients and medical professionals through its "Dangbu, Statin" campaign. "The survey confirmed gaps in awareness regarding the need to continue statin treatment and concerns about side effects," a JW Pharmaceutical official said. "We will continue activities that help with the lifelong management of dyslipidemia patients."
