Cholesterol medication adherence and its determinants in community dwelling older adults in India: Evidence from the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (2017– 2018)

Abstract

INTRODUCTION Amidst rising cardiovascular disease rates globally, hypercholesterolemia emerges as a critical factor, especially in rapidly urbanizing nations like India. This study determines the prevalence of hypercholesterolemia among older adults in India, and ascertains its sociodemographic, lifestyle, and clinical determinants. We also ascertained the adherence to cholesterol lowering therapies and their determinants among previously diagnosed patients with hypercholesterolemia. METHODS We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of secondary data from the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI Wave 1: 2017-2018) involving 66606 participants aged ≥45 years including 2310 participants with high cholesterol. Multivariable logistic regression was employed to analyze determinants of high cholesterol and medication adherence, which was assessed by whether participants selfreported taking regularly cholesterol-lowering medication. RESULTS The weighted prevalence of (self-reported) high cholesterol was 2.28% (95% CI: 2.07-2.51). On adjusted analysis, participants of a higher socio-economic status