Recent trends in the consumption of lipid-lowering drugs in Finland.

The consumption of lipid-lowering drugs in Finland and in other Nordic countries increased almost steadily in 1988-1993. The exceptions were the year 1992 in Finland and 1993 in Iceland, when consumption was lower than in the previous year. In both cases the temporary decline in consumption was associated with a reduction in reimbursement for the costs of lipid-lowering drugs. In 1993, the consumption level was 2.7 defined daily doses/1000 inhabitants/day in Finland and ranged from 2.3 to 4.0 in other Nordic countries. According to the Finnish nationwide prescription register, 0.5% of men and 0.6% of women purchased lipid-lowering drugs in the period from January to September, 1994. The rate of use was highest among people of middle age. In the early 1990s, statins took the lead in the consumption of lipid-lowering drugs, accounting for 70% of prescriptions in 1993; the percentages of fibrates, resins, and nicotinic acid derivatives declined in the same period. In 1994 the prevalence of familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) according to strictly predetermined criteria was 0.8 per 1000 among Finns, and the proportion of FH patients among all users of lipid-lowering drugs was 11%. The use of lipid-lowering drugs is not particularly high in Finland and seems to be reasonably targeted.