Abstracts

Rationale: There are many cross-sectional studies that people with epilepsy (PWE) taking enzyme-inducing antiepileptic drugs (EIAEDs) may have higher cholesterol levels. Switching AEDs from EIAEDs to the non-enzyme inducing AEDs (NEIAEDs) resulted significant declines in total cholesterol (-24.9 mg/dL). There is also a report that PWE taking EIAEDs have more chance to have statin prescription compared to PWE taking NEIAEDs. The aim of this study is to compare statin prescription prevalence between EIAEDs versus NEIAEDs among PWE in South Korea. Methods: We investigated the prevalence of statin prescription among adult PWE by using the claims data of the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service-National Patients Sample in 2014 (HIRA-NPS-2014-0067). To minimize the bias of other drug’s effects, PWE who were treated with only monotherapy of carbamazepine (CBZ), phenytoin (PHT), levetiracetam (LEV), and lamotrigine (LTG) were included. PWEs having comorbidity such as cardiovascular diseases or cerebrovascular diseases were excluded because these patients have higher chance of taking statins without high cholesterol levels. Results: The number of adult PWE without cardiovascular or cerebrovascular diseases who were treated by AED monotherapy was 2760 in 2014. Among these patients 1056, 288, 877, and 539 patients were treated with CBZ, PHT, LEV, and LTG respectively. The prevalence rates of their statin treatment were 5.1, 3.5, 3.8 and 2.0 % in CBZ, PHT, LEV, and LTG respectively (p=0.026). Among EIAEDs (CBZ+PHT) users, 4.8 % received statin therapy, compared with 3.1 % of those who take NEIAEDs (LEV+LTG) (p=0.025). Conclusions: This study showed that PWE taking EIAEDs by monotherapy may have a higher tendency to take statins than those taking NEIAEDs in South Korea, 2014. Further risk-controlled and longitudinal studies will be needed. Funding: No funding