Far wider population would benefit from statin treatment
Lifetime statin treatment would be cost effective in a far wider population
than that covered by current guidelines, a study published on BMJ
Online First on 15 November 2006 suggests.
The researchers developed a model to estimate lifetime risk of vascular
events, and costs of treatment and hospital admissions, for 20,536 men
and women across the UK. Treatment with statins was cost saving, or cost
less than £2,500 per life year gained, in people aged 35–85
years who had a five-year risk of a major vascular event of only 5 per
cent at the start of treatment. “Statin therapy should be considered
routinely for people across a wider age range and at lower risk of vascular
disease than is currently the case,” they argue.
Alastair Gray, professor of health economics at Oxford University and
one of the authors of the paper, told The Journal that a similar logic
could be applied to extending eligibility for over-the-counter statins. “People
who are at a lower level of risk than those currently eligible should
be able to buy simvastatin OTC,” he said. However, he added: “Since
simvastatin is available generically and we have shown that it is cost-effective
or cost-saving for people with a 5 per cent five-year risk of a major
vascular event, it might be better if it was made available for those
people on the NHS.” |
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