The Dyslipidemia Drugs Use in Taiwan

• Main Authors: Mei-Ju Lin, 林美汝
• Other Authors: Hui-Fen Chiu
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2005
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/51280504219546563905

碩士 === 高雄醫學大學 === 藥學研究所碩士在職專班 === 93 === ABSTRACT Background: Coronary Artery Disease is among the leading cause of death in various industrialized nations of the world, such as the United States and many countries in Europe. During the past decades, there has been a decline in the agricultural work force and an increase in the number of white collar workers in Taiwan. Due to advances in medical care and social changes the age structure of Taiwan''s population has changed so that a greater proportion of the population is now in the older age groups. This, coupled with changes in eating habits had led to an increase in the incidence of CAD. Of the many etiologic factors of CAD, dyslipidemia is the one most closely associated with it. Objective: To investigate the rate and trend of various prescription drugs used in the treatment of dyslipidemia in Taiwan. Methods: This study uses the Out Patient Prescription and Medical files from the National Healthcare Insurance database. Patients who have received prescription medication for the treatment of dyslipidemia were selected and the association of their use with age, sex, medical institution and geographical area was assessed. Results: We studied a total of 2,584,147 prescriptions among 2,316,858 patients from the years 1997 to 2001. The rate of using dyslipidemic medications is 7/1000 and has been significantly increasing steadily in the past 5 years. We observe that males were over represented among medication users and that increasing age was significantly correlated with increasing use. The usage rate was significantly higher for those residing in urban areas relative to people from rural areas. Spending for dyslipidemic medications has been significantly increasing steadily in recent years. These medications are mostly statins or fibric acid derivatives. There is a significant increase in the use of statins and a decrease in the use of fibric Acid derivatives. Comorbid diseases include metabolic disorders and cerebrovascular diseases. Conclusion: The rate of dyslipidemic drugs use is significantly increasing steadily in Taiwan. Users are more likely to be male, elderly, and be from urban areas compared to non-users. The medications are statins mostly. The major comorbid diseases associated with dyslipidemia are Coronary Artery Diseases, including cerebrovascular diseases and metabolic disorders. Key words: Coronary Artery Disease, dyslipidemic medications, trend, statins