To reduce atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) among people living in the US with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV, PLWH), it is critical to asess shortfalls in statin initiation. Stephen R. Cole, PhD, Myron S. Cohen, MD, Joseph J. Eron, MD, and Michelle Floris-Moore, MD, MS., aimed to describe patterns in clinically indicated statin initiation among demographically similar people with or at increased vulnerability to HIV.
Using data from the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study and Women’s Interagency HIV Study, they followed 842 men and 852 women with an indication for statin use based on 2013 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guidelines for statin initiation between January 2014 and March 2020. Within 2 years of statin indication, 20% of participants reported statin use. Initiation of statin therapy did not differ significantly by HIV status.