Statins are one of the 'go-to's' for reducing morbidity from hyper-lipid disorders causing arteriosclerosis heart disease, stroke, or other vascular thrombotic disorders.
About 40% of American adults — some 137 million — are eligible to take the glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist semaglutide, said the authors of a new study. The authors report that 35 million adults are eligible for semaglutide for diabetes, 129 million for weight management, and 8.9 million for secondary cardiovascular disease prevention.
Semaglutide for secondary prevention is likely to be an area of increased growth, as there is more insurance coverage for that indication, the authors wrote.
Currently, statins are the most commonly prescribed medication for American adults, with some 192 million prescriptions written in 2022, according to one estimate. The authors of a research letter published online in JAMA Cardiology estimate that at least 82 million American adults are eligible for statins.
Semaglutide will quickly overtake statins as the most prescribed pharmaceutical for American adults, said the authors. It was the top-selling drug in the United States in 2023, with sales of almost $14 billion, which made it worth taking a closer look at who might be eligible, said lead author Dhruv S. Kazi, MD, MS, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, Boston.
The use of these medications. is cost-effective.
He and his colleagues at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, and the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern, Chicago, used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2015 to 2020 to determine how many American adults might be eligible for semaglutide. They focused on diabetes, weight management, and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease, using inclusion and exclusion criteria from major randomized clinical trials of semaglutide in those indications. According to recent studies, approximately 137 million American adults are considered eligible for semaglutide treatment, which represents more than half of the US adult population; this eligibility is based on factors like weight management, diabetes management, or cardiovascular disease prevention.
References and studies that discuss the cost-effectiveness of statins in preventing heart disorders in the general population:
Mason et al. (2015) - This study evaluated the cost-effectiveness of statin therapy for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease in various populations. It found that statins are generally cost-effective, especially in individuals with elevated cardiovascular risk.
Sculpher et al. (2004) - This research presented a model assessing the cost-effectiveness of statins for primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease. The study concluded that statins are cost-effective for primary prevention in high-risk groups.
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) - NICE guidelines provide a comprehensive analysis of the cost-effectiveness of statins in preventing cardiovascular diseases. Their recommendations suggest that statins are cost-effective for individuals with a 10% or greater risk of cardiovascular events over 10 years.
Hernandez et al. (2012) - This study analyzed the economic implications of statin therapy in the general population, demonstrating that widespread implementation in individuals aged 40-75 years with varying risk levels is cost-effective.
Graham et al. (2011) - This research evaluated the cost-effectiveness of statins in older adults, showing significant health benefits that justify the costs associated with long-term statin use for preventing heart disorders.
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