Statin therapy helps prevent cardiovascular disease and death in elderly

Researchers report that primary-prevention statin therapy is effective for preventing CVD and all-cause mortality among the elderly, even among those who are 85 years and older.

The findings were published on May 27, 2024 in Annals of Internal Medicine.

“There is little consensus on using statins for primary prevention of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and all-cause mortality in adults aged 75 years or older due to the underrepresentation of this population in randomized controlled trials, the authors said.

The objective of the study was, “To investigate the benefits and risks of using statins for primary prevention in old (aged 75 to 84 years) and very old (aged ≥85 years) adults,” they added.

For this retrospective study the investigators analyzed data from electronic medical records in Hong Kong.

Eligible subjects were 75 years or older who had started statin therapy from January 2008 to December 2015. Potential subjects with preexisting CVD at baseline were excluded from the analysis.

Of the 69,981 eligible subjects aged 75 to 84 years and 14,555 subjects aged 85 years or older, 41, 884 and 9,457, respectively, reported a history of CHD equivalents, such as diabetes.

The endpoints were Incidence of major CVDs (stroke, myocardial infarction, or heart failure), all-cause mortality and major adverse events (myopathies and liver dysfunction).

The researchers reported that of 42, 680 subjects aged 75 to 84 years and 5,390 aged 85 years or older, 9,676 and 1,600 respectively developed CVDs..

Risk reduction of overall CVD incidence was found for initiating statin therapy in adults aged 75 to 84 years (5-year standardized risk reduction, 1.20%), and in those aged 85 years or older (4.44%).

“No significantly increased risks for myopathies and liver dysfunction were found in both age groups,” the authors said. “Reduction for CVDs after statin therapy were seen in patients aged 75 years or older without increasing risks for severe adverse effects. Of note, the benefits and safety of statin therapy were consistently found in adults aged 85 years or older,” they added.