AbstractStatins are drugs that are well tolerated, but considering their extensive use, there are still concerns regarding their safety. Knowledge of patients about the side effects of statins has not been adequately studied, although timely recognition of the AES is of vital importance for improving the quality of patient care and reducing morbidity and suffering. The aim of this study was to develop and test a questionnaire for measuring the knowledge of patients about statin therapy about adverse effects of statins (AES).This two-center cross-sectional study was conducted during the period from March 1, 2015 to April 1, 2016, taking place in pharmacies from the city of Belgrade and at the Department of Internal Medicine, Clinical Center in Kragujevac, Serbia. The study included 300 patients and 20 pharmacists.The questionnaire showed satisfactory internal consistency, with Cronbach’s alpha of 0.898, good construction and homogeneity of questions. After splitting the questionnaire to two parts at random, Cronbach’s alphas were 0.834 and 0.842 for the both parts, respectively. Exploratory factorial analysis revealed two domains. The patients rated their knowledge of the side effects of statins 52.7±19.9 on the visual analogue scale.Based on the results of this study, we believe that this questionnaire could be a useful tool for testing the knowledge of patients about adverse effects of statins and help physicians to identify patients with insufficient knowledge who should be additionally informed about it.
References
1.
Maji D, Shaikh S, Solanki D, Gaurav K. Safety of statins. Indian Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism. 2013;17(4):636.
2.
Taylor F, Ward K, Moore TH, Burke M, Davey Smith G, Casas JP, et al. Statins for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.
3.
Agu K, Oparah A, Ochei U. Knowledge and attitudes of HIV-infected patients on antiretroviral therapy regarding adverse drug reactions (ADRs) in selected hospitals in Nigeria. Perspectives in Clinical Research. 2012;3(3):95.
4.
Jovanović V. Validacija kratke skale subjektivnog blagostanja. Primenjena psihologija. 3(2):175–90.
5.
Hoffman KB, Kraus C, Dimbil M, Golomb BA. A Survey of the FDA’s AERS Database Regarding Muscle and Tendon Adverse Events Linked to the Statin Drug Class. PLoS ONE. 7(8):e42866.
6.
Ziegler DK, Mosier MC, Buenaver M, Okuyemi K. How Much Information About Adverse Effects of Medication Do Patients Want From Physicians? Archives of Internal Medicine. 2001;161(5):706.
7.
Shankar-Hari M, Kruger PS, Di Gangi S, Scales DC, Perkins GD, McAuley DF, et al. Statin therapy in critical illness: an international survey of intensive care physicians’ opinions, attitudes and practice. BMC Clinical Pharmacology. 2012;12(1).
8.
Bitzur R, Cohen H, Kamari Y, Harats D. Intolerance to Statins: Mechanisms and Management. Diabetes Care. 2013;36(Supplement_2):S325–30.
9.
Foster JM, van Sonderen E, Lee AJ, Sanderman R, Dijkstra A, Postma DS, et al. A self-rating scale for patient-perceived side effects of inhaled corticosteroids. Respiratory Research. 2006;7(1).
10.
Rosenbaum D, Dallongeville J, Sabouret P, Bruckert E. Discontinuation of statin therapy due to muscular side effects: A survey in real life. Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases. 2013;23(9):871–5.
11.
Golomb BA, Evans MA. Statin Adverse Effects. American Journal of Cardiovascular Drugs. 2008;8(6):373–418.
12.
Pilotto A, Maggi S, Noale M, Franceschi M, Parisi G, Crepaldi G, et al. Development and Validation of a New Questionnaire for the Evaluation of Upper Gastrointestinal Symptoms in the Elderly Population: A Multicenter Study. The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences. 2010;65A(2):174–8.
13.
Maningat P, Gordon BR, Breslow JL. How Do We Improve Patient Compliance and Adherence to Long-Term Statin Therapy? Current Atherosclerosis Reports. 2013;15(1).
14.
Macedo AF, Taylor FC, Casas JP, Adler A, Prieto-Merino D, Ebrahim S. Unintended effects of statins from observational studies in the general population: systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Medicine. 2014;12(1).
15.
Suda AL, Jennings F, Bueno VC, Natour J. Development and validation of Fibromyalgia Knowledge Questionnaire: FKQ. Rheumatology International. 2012;32(3):655–62.
16.
Tolman KG. The liver and lovastatin. The American Journal of Cardiology. 2002;89(12):1374–80.
17.
Cullen G, Kelly E, Murray FE. Patients’ knowledge of adverse reactions to current medications. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. 2006;62(2):232–6.
18.
Golomb BA, Evans MA. Statin Adverse Effects. American Journal of Cardiovascular Drugs. 2008;8(6):373–418.
19.
Kutner JS, Blatchford PJ, Taylor DH, Ritchie CS, Bull JH, Fairclough DL, et al. Safety and Benefit of Discontinuing Statin Therapy in the Setting of Advanced, Life-Limiting Illness. JAMA Internal Medicine. 2015;175(5):691.
20.
Horvat N, Kos M. Contribution of Slovenian community pharmacist counseling to patients’ knowledge about their prescription medicines: a cross-sectional study. Croatian Medical Journal. 2015;56(1):41–9.
21.
Hamann PDH, Cooper RG, McHugh NJ, Chinoy H. Statin-induced necrotizing myositis – A discrete autoimmune entity within the “statin-induced myopathy spectrum.” Autoimmunity Reviews. 2013;12(12):1177–81.
22.
Jukema JW, Cannon CP, de Craen AJM, Westendorp RGJ, Trompet S. The Controversies of Statin Therapy. Journal of the American College of Cardiology. 2012;60(10):875–81.
23.
Cullen G, Kelly E, Murray FE. Patients’ knowledge of adverse reactions to current medications. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. 2006;62(2):232–6.
24.
Duarte-Silva D, Figueiras A, Herdeiro MT, Teixeira Rodrigues A, Silva Branco F, Polónia J, et al. PERSYVE: design and validation of a questionnaire about adverse effects of antihypertensive drugs. Pharmacy Practice (Internet). 12(2):0–0.
The statements, opinions and data contained in the journal are solely those of the individual authors and contributors and not of the publisher and the editor(s). We stay neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
