Cholesterol Medications—Who Isn’t Taking Them?

According to Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, nearly half of American adults who could be taking cholesterol-lowering medicines are not. CDC researchers examined data from the 2005-2012 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys and found that 78 million people aged 21 or older (37% of American adults) were eligible for cholesterol-lowering medication or already taking it. Of those, 56% were taking medication, 47% were making lifestyle changes, 37% were doing both, and 36% were doing neither.

Black adults who did not have a routine place for health care were found least likely to be taking cholesterol-lowering drugs. However, the CDC study also found that black men have a lower prevalence of high cholesterol compared with whites and Hispanics.

Although the study included all forms of cholesterol-lowering medications, nearly 90% of patients were taking statins.