Infant & Early Childhood Development

Racial Disparities Exist in Use of Statins to Reduce Heart Disease Risk

Black and Hispanic Adults are Significantly Less Likely to Take Statin Drugs for Preventive Measures Compared with White Adults

Black and Hispanic adults at risk of developing cardiovascular disease are less likely to take statin drugs than white adults with the same risk factors, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers reported in JAMA Cardiology.

Age, sex, blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, and smoking status all increase a person’s likelihood for cardiovascular disease. Researchers found that even after adjusting for these risk factors, data showed that 37.6% of white participants used statins compared with 23.9% of Hispanic participants and 23.8% of Black participants. The study also showed that having health insurance and regular access to routine health care were associated with higher statin use.

“This adds to the known racial and ethnic disparities already highly prevalent in heart disease,” said Ambarish Pandey, M.D., Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine in the Division of Cardiology at UT Southwestern, who is an expert on disparities in cardiovascular disease and the lead author of the study. “These findings have the potential to affect how we screen for and treat people who do not have heart disease but may have risk factors such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and smoking.”

Statins, which include atorvastatin (Lipitor) and simvastatin (Zocor), are among the most prescribed drugs in the U.S. In 1985, UT Southwestern researchers Michael S. Brown, M.D., and Joseph L. Goldstein, M.D., were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their

Age Well, Live Well HHSC Recognizes Innovators in Aging

By Texas Health and Human Services Commission

TheTexas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) recently announced seven Innovators in Aging across the state in recognition for their efforts serving older adults. The award program, now in its fifth year, highlights innovative efforts to serve older Texans. HHSC hopes that by highlighting these innovators, it will encourage others to develop creative ways to serve older adults.

The Innovators in Aging award categories highlight the three components of aging and living well — be healthy, be connected, and be informed. It’s important for older adults discovery of the LDL receptor and its role in cholesterol metabolism, which led to the drug’s development.

Previous research has established that rates of cardiovascular disease – as well as many individual risk factors –are higher among Black and Hispanic adults than white adults. Due to those disparities, race and ethnicity are factors in a person’s individual risk of developing heart disease.

Previous studies have found lower statin use among Black and Hispanic adults who already have established heart disease or diabetes. The new study is the first to look at statin use across races and ethnicities in people with a broad range of risk factors. Dr. Pandey and collaborators at the University of Utah analyzed data on a select group of people who completed the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) between January 2013 and March 2020. The subset of participant records selected for the analysis was designed to represent the U.S. population. Dr. Pandey said the disparities found in statin use across race groups were independent of risk factors, including age, sex, and LDL cholesterol levels. “The rates of statin use in those see Disparities...page 13 to take care of their physical health, stay engaged and connected with their local communities, and be informed of statewide and local services and programs that can help them. These components can help older adults have a better quality of life as they age.

The “Be Healthy” category recognizes innovations that promote wellness. These organizations will receive the Being Healthy Award:

• Anavah Health developed The Knowable “smart brief” that detects the presence of wetness in real-time, enabling caregivers to change older adults’ undergarments more quickly. This new development will help prevent urinary tract infections, pressure ulcers, and pain in older adults.

• WayWiser created a private, secure, collaborative platform where loved ones can connect with family members, close friends, and key professionals to help manage the care and safety of an aging parent as a team. The platform offers a care coordination feature allowing users to post daily caregiving updates, calendar events or appointments, medication needs, and coordinate other forms of care.

The “Be Connected” category recognizes innovations that promote social engagement to improve a person’s health and sense of well-being. These organizations will receive the Being Connected Award:

• Artifcts, Inc. is a safe, secure