Do statin users adhere to a healthy diet and lifestyle?: the Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study

BackgroundLifestyle and dietary advice typically precedes or accompanies the prescription of statin medications. However, evidence for adherence to this advice is sparse. The objective was to compare saturated fat intake, exercise, alcohol consumption and smoking between statin users and non-users in Australia.MethodsData were analysed for 4614 participants aged ≥37 years in the Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle study in 2011–2012. Statin use, smoking status and physical activity were self-reported. Saturated fat and alcohol intake were measured via a food frequency questionnaire. Multinomial logistic regression was used to compute adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the associations between statin use and the four lifestyle factors. All models were adjusted for age, sex, education, number of general practitioner visits, body mass index, hypertension, diabetes and prior cardiovascular diseases.ResultsIn total 1108 (24%) participants used a statin. Statin users were 2...