QuickStats:Percentage* of Uninsured Persons Aged <65 Years With No Health Insurance Coverage Because of Cost,† by Race/Ethnicity§ — National Health Interview Survey,¶ United States, 2004 and 2014
Authors: Carla Mercado, Ariadne Desimone, Erika Odom, Cathleen Gillespie, Carma Ayala, Fleetwood Loustalot, Thomas Frieden, Harold Jaffe, Joanne Cono, Chesley Richards, Michael Iademarco, Sonja Rasmussen, Charlotte Kent, Jacqueline Gindler, Teresa Rutledge, Douglas Weatherwax, Soumya Dunworth, Teresa Hood, Martha Boyd, Maureen Leahy, Julia Martinroe, Stephen Spriggs, Moua Yang, Quang Doan, Phyllis King, Teresa Moreland, Terraye Starr, Timothy Jones, Matthew Boulton, Virginia Caine, Katherine Daniel, Jonathan Fielding, David Fleming, William Halperin, King Holmes, Robin Ikeda, Rima Khabbaz, Phyllis Meadows, Jewel Mullen, Jeff Niederdeppe, Patricia Quinlisk, Patrick Remington, Carlos Roig, William Roper, William Schaffner, Meghan Lyman, Maroya Walters, David Lonsway, Kamile Rasheed, Brandi Limbago, Alexander Kallen, Caitlin Pedati, Jennifer House, Jessica Hancock-Allen, Leah Colton, Katie Bryan, Dustin Ortbahn, Lon Kightlinger, Kiersten Kugeler, Jeannine Petersen, Paul Mead, Tom Safranek, Bryan Buss
Journal: MMWR Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (2015)

A high blood level of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) remains a major risk factor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) (1), although data from 2005 through 2012 has shown a decline in high cholesterol (total and LDL cholesterol) along with an increase in the use of cholesterol-lowering medications (2-4).The most recent national guidelines (published in 2013) from the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) expand previous recommendations for reducing cholesterol to include lifestyle modifications and medication use as part of complete cholesterol management and to lower risk for ASCVD (5-8).Because changes in cholesterol treatment guidelines might magnify existing disparities in care and medication use, it is important to describe persons currently eligible for treatment and medication use, particularly as more providers implement the 2013 ACC/AHA guidelines.To understand baseline estimates of U.S. adults on or eligible for cholesterol treatment, as well as to identify sex and racial/ethnic disparities, CDC analyzed data from the 2005-2012 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES).Because the 2013 ACC/AHA guidelines focus on initiation or continuation of cholesterol treatment, adults meeting the guidelines' eligibility criteria as well as adults who were currently taking cholesterollowering medication were assessed as a group.Overall, 36.7% of U.S. adults or 78.1 million persons aged ≥21 years were on or eligible for cholesterol treatment.Within this group, 55.5% were currently taking cholesterol-lowering medication, and 46.6% reported making lifestyle modifications, such as exercising, dietary changes, or controlling their weight, to lower cholesterol; 37.1% reported making lifestyle modifications and taking medication, and 35.5% reported doing neither.Among adults on or eligible for cholesterol-lowering medication, the proportion taking cholesterol-lowering medication was higher for women than men and for non-Hispanic whites (whites) than