Variations and increase in use of statins across Europe: data from administrative databases.

Coronary heart disease remains a major cause of death in most European countries.1 Statins lower blood cholesterol concentration and reduce the relative risk of coronary events by about 30% in both primary and secondary prevention.2 Statins are widely and increasingly used in most European countries, although data on the extent of this are not generally available. As part of a wider study on drug use,3 we collected data on statin use by total defined daily doses and then calculated doses per 1000 of the population covered (by the relevant data source) in 13 of the 15 European Union countries and in Norway for the year 2000. The data sources were the major publicly supported sources, mostly governmental or major insurance or sickness funds (see appendix 2 on bmj.com for details). These systems cover all or only part of a …