(DCP058) PREVALANCE OF STATIN USE IN YOUNG ADULTS WITH TYPE 1 DIABETES IN A SINGLE TERTIARY DIABETES CENTRE IN LONDON ONTARIO

Background: The evidence for statin use in those over age 40 years with type 1 diabetes for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease is well established. However, current clinical practice guideline recommendations for statin therapy in adults age < 40 years with diabetes are not strong (Grade D level evidence/consensus). Although statins are safe and effective for cholesterol-lowering in younger individuals, prior studies have found that the prevalence of statin use in young adults (YA) with type 1 diabetes is very low, ranging from < 1%-3%. The purpose of our study was to assess the prevalence of statin use in YA with type 1 diabetes at our centre and compare the clinical characteristics of those on statin therapy with those not taking a statin.

METHODS AND RESULTS: In this single centre cross-sectional study, we evaluated the prevalence of statin use and clinical characteristics in 1,661 persons with type 1 diabetes age 18-39 years followed at St Joseph’s Health Care Centre in London, Ontario. The prevalence of statin use was 7.7%. Those on statin therapy were more likely to be male (57.8%), to have higher body mass index (30.1%), and to have documented diabetes-related structural complications including retinopathy (28.9%), nephropathy (20.3%), and gastroparesis (8.6%). The proportion of persons with type 1 diabetes who met at least one criterion of the Canadian Cardiovascular Society guidelines for treatment of dyslipidemia was 31.3%.

Conclusion: We found a very low prevalence of statin use in our population of YA with type 1 diabetes. Less than 10% of our cohort was on statin therapy, even though almost one third met Canadian Cardiovascular Society guidelines for dyslipidemia treatment. Thus, further studies are needed to address the factors leading to this gap in statin therapy in YA with type 1 diabetes.