Characteristics of eligible patients being treated with statins and free from cardiovascular disease at baseline. Patients are stratified by response to statin (based on LDL-C measurement) 24 months after initiation of statin therapy
| Characteristics | Total number (%) | Optimal statin responders, n (%) | Sub-optimal statin responders, n (%) | |
| 165 411 (100) | 80 802 (48.85) | 84 609 (51.15) | ||
| Follow-up time (years) | Median (IQR) | 6.2 (3.4–9.3) | 6.5 (3.6–9.6) | 5.9 (3.3–9.1) |
| Females | No. (%) | 80 370 (48.6) | 40 739 (50.4) | 39 631 (46.8) |
| Age (years) | Mean (SD) | 62.4 (11.8)* | 63.6 (11.4) | 61.3 (12.0) |
| Baseline LDL-C (mmol/L) | Mean (SD) | 4.1 (1.1) | 4.4 (1.1) | 3.8 (1.1) |
| Post-treatment LDL-C within 24 months (mmol/L) | Mean (SD) | 2.6 (1.0) | 2.1 (0.6) | 3.1 (1.0) |
| BMI (kg/m2) | Mean (SD) | 29.1 (5.7)† | 29.0 (5.5) | 29.3 (5.9) |
| Systolic blood pressure (mm Hg) | Mean (SD) | 143 (19)‡ | 144 (20) | 141 (19) |
| Diastolic blood pressure (mm Hg) | Mean (SD) | 83 (11)§ | 83 (11) | 82 (11) |
| Alcohol misuse | No. (%) | 1231 (0.7) | 493 (0.6) | 738 (0.9) |
| Smoking | ||||
| Non-smoker | No. (%) | 2561 (1.6) | 1259 (1.6) | 1302 (1.5) |
| Ex-smoker | 1838 (1.1) | 881 (1.1) | 957 (1.1) | |
| Smoker | 2003 (1.2) | 868 (1.1) | 1135 (1.3) | |
| Unknown status | 159 009 (96.1) | 77 794 (96.3) | 81 215 (96.0) | |
| Index of Multiple Deprivation (patients) | ||||
| 1 | No. (%) | 21 945 (22.9) | 11 044 (23.8) | 10 901 (22.1) |
| 2 | 21 142 (22.1) | 10 467 (22.6) | 10 675 (21.6) | |
| 3 | 19 224 (20.1) | 9288 (20.0) | 9936 (20.1) | |
| 4 | 18 186 (19.0) | 8583 (18.5) | 9603 (19.4) | |
| 5 | 15 291 (16.0) | 6990 (15.1) | 8301 (16.8) | |
| Comorbidities (before first statin) | ||||
| Diabetes | ||||
| Non-diabetic | No. (%) | 137 984 (83.42) | 67 739 (83.8) | 70 245 (83.0) |
| Poorly-controlled diabetic | 9246 (5.6) | 4351 (5.4) | 4895 (5.8) | |
| Well-controlled diabetic | 3253 (2.0) | 1698 (2.1) | 1555 (1.8) | |
| Diabetic control status unknown | 14 928 (9.0) | 7014 (8.7) | 7914 (9.4) | |
| Dyslipidaemias | No. (%) | 13 445 (8.1) | 6351 (7.9) | 7094 (8.4) |
| Atrial fibrillation | No. (%) | 4849 (2.9) | 2473 (3.1) | 2376 (2.8) |
| Chronic kidney disease | No. (%) | 4469 (2.7) | 2264 (2.8) | 2205 (2.6) |
| Family history of cardiovascular disease | No. (%) | 17 522 (10.6) | 8495 (10.5) | 9027 (10.7) |
| Family history of hyperlipidaemia | No. (%) | 389 (0.2) | 183 (0.2) | 206 (0.2) |
| Treated hypertension | No. (%) | 43 242 (26.1) | 22 711 (28.1) | 20 531 (24.3) |
| Hypothyroidism | No. (%) | 6867 (4.2) | 3492 (4.3) | 3375 (4.0) |
| Liver disease | No. (%) | 1556 (0.9) | 729 (0.9) | 827 (1.0) |
| Migraine | No. (%) | 3612 (2.2) | 1800 (2.2) | 1812 (2.1) |
| Nephrotic syndrome | No. (%) | 111 (0.1) | 50 (0.1) | 61 (0.1) |
| Rheumatoid arthritis | No. (%) | 1465 (0.9) | 718 (0.9) | 747 (0.9) |
| Severe mental illness | No. (%) | 710 (0.4) | 350 (0.4) | 360 (0.4) |
| Systemic lupus erythematosus | No. (%) | 181 (0.1) | 77 (0.1) | 104 (0.1) |
| Medications (prescribed within 12 months before first statin) | ||||
| Medication count | Median (IQR) | 6 (3–9) | 6 (3–9) | 6 (3–9) |
| Antipsychotics | No. (%) | 6919 (4.2) | 3634 (4.5) | 3285 (3.9) |
| Other lipid lowering medication | No. (%) | 670 (0.4) | 244 (0.3) | 426 (0.5) |
| Oral corticosteroids | No. (%) | 6760 (4.1) | 3193 (4.0) | 3567 (4.2) |
| Potency of initial statin prescribed | ||||
| Low | No. (%) | 39 343 (23.8) | 14 674 (18.2) | 24 669 (29.2) |
| Medium | 117 264 (70.9) | 61 511 (76.1) | 55 753 (65.9) | |
| High | 8804 (5.3) | 4617 (5.7) | 4187 (5.0) | |
| Missing data | ||||
| Missing BMI | No. (%) | 73 801 (44.6) | 37 132 (46.0) | 36 669 (43.3) |
| Missing systolic blood pressure | No. (%) | 19 383 (11.7) | 8357 (10.3) | 11 026 (13.0) |
| Missing diastolic blood pressure | No. (%) | 19 322 (11.7) | 8317 (10.3) | 11 005 (13.0) |
*Mean (SD) for all 165 411 patients.
†Mean (SD) for 91 610 (optimal: 43 670; sub-optimal: 47 940) patients with baseline body mass index record.
‡Mean (SD) for 146 028 (optimal: 72 445; sub-optimal: 73 583) patients with baseline systolic blood pressure record.
§Mean (SD) for 146 089 (optimal: 72 485; sub-optimal: 73 604) patients with baseline diastolic blood pressure record.
BMI, body mass index; LDL-C, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol.