Efficacy and Safety of Statin Therapy in Patients with Hospital Admission for COVID-19

Statin use in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 was associated with reductions in mortality and was especially protective in patients with coronary artery disease, according to study results presented at AHA 2021, held from November 13 to 15, 2021.

Investigators of a retrospective study sought to analyze the association between statin use and mortality in 5375 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 at Mount Sinai Health System hospitals in New York between February and December 2020. Patients were classified by statin use (nonusers, low- to moderate-intensity users, and high-intensity users), and in-hospital mortality rates were determined using multivariate Cox proportional hazard models. Analyses considered covariables of age, gender, race, history of hypertension, diabetes, atrial fibrillation, congestive heart failure, chronic kidney disease, and coronary artery disease.

Statin use in patients hospitalized for COVID-19 was associated with a reduced risk of mortality compared with nonusers, among low- to moderate-intensity users (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 0.69; 95% CI, 0.59-0.81) and high-intensity users (aHR 0.63; 95% CI, 0.54-0.75). In a secondary analysis of patients with coronary artery disease (n=743), high-intensity statin users reported decreased in-hospital mortality vs nonusers (aHR 0.49; 95% CI, 0.35-0.68).

The investigators suggested that statin therapy was effective for lowering mortality risk for patients hospitalized with COVID-19, especially in patients with coronary artery disease. Future studies should determine if statins are effective to reduce risk for death among patients with COVID-19 and other viral infections.

Disclosure: Several study authors declared affiliations with the pharmaceutical industry. Please see the original reference for a full list of authors’ disclosures.

Reference

Choi D, Chen Q, Goonewardena SN, et al. Efficacy and safety of statin therapy in patients with hospital admission for COVID-19. Presented at: AHA 2021; November 13-15, 2021. Poster 708.