The number of Americans that chose to disregard cholesterol-lowering therapy is rising.
According to a survey conducted by the Wold Health Organization, about 39 percent of adults are suffering from high cholesterol worldwide. High levels of cholesterol account for several diseases, ranging from obesity to heart and head strokes. Lately, another study stressed out that many Americans refuse to take cholesterol-lowering medication.
The said study, detailing why eligible patients refuse to take their medication, was published by the CDC. According to its findings, it would seem that approximately 44.5 percent of the US citizens found with high levels of cholesterol choose to do nothing regarding their condition. Moreover, it would seem that they too are aware by the dangers of having a high level of cholesterol. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention cautioned that people with this problem are at risk to suffer from a heart attack or a stroke.
Further research has uncovered that the most exposed to the diseases brought forth by high levels of cholesterol are the African-American citizens. According to the number, approximately 39.5 percent of African-Americans are eligible to receive cholesterol-lowering medication. Unfortunately, more than half of them choose the high ground, refusing to take any drugs, although they are quite aware of the situation.
As for the white population, it would seem that things are not entirely different. Out of the 38.4 percent of the patients who were found eligible to receive cholesterol-lowering medication, approximately 40 percent of the chose to disregard the recommendation.
The study even has a gender dimension. According to this fact, women are more likely to take these drugs if they are found eligible. Thus, 58.3 percent of the women said that they regularly take their cholesterol-lowering pill versus 53.9 percent of men.
Many Americans refuse to take cholesterol-lowering medication and they won’t take any steps on changing their lifestyle either. Out of the 78.1 million of adults found with high levels of cholesterol, only 37.1 percent of them admitted having made some significant changes in lifestyle and diet. On the other hand, approximately 35.5 percent of them declared that they did take any steps into altering their lifestyle.
Carla Mercado, one of the authors of the study declared that high levels of cholesterol account for approximately 800000 deaths each year. Those who chose to left their condition unchecked risk to develop more severe afflictions.
But, there is another side to the story. It is very likely that the adults who chose to discontinue cholesterol-lowering therapy are afraid of the drug’s side-effects. A couple of patients experienced muscle pain and fatigue, while on cholesterol-lowering medication. Moreover, in very rare cases, patients could develop type 2 diabetes from these drugs.
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