Is Statin Use Associated With a Reduction of CV Events, Mortality in Older Men?

HealthDay News — Statin use is associated with a significantly lower risk of mortality in older male physicians, and a non-significant lower risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) events, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

Ariela R. Orkaby, MD, from the Massachusetts Veterans Epidemiology and Research Information Center in Boston, and colleagues analyzed data from a prospective cohort of participants in the Physicians’ Health Study (7213 male physicians ≥70 years without a history of CVD) over a median of 7 years of follow-up. Non-statin users were propensity matched to 1130 statin users.

The researchers found that over the study period statin use was associated with an 18% lower risk of all-cause mortality (hazard ratio [HR], 0.82; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.69 to 0.98) and non-significantly lower risk of CVD events (HR, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.70 to 1.06) and stroke (HR, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.45 to 1.09). 

Results did not change according to age group at baseline (70 to 76 years or >76 years) or functional status. For those with elevated cholesterol, statin users had fewer major CVD events than non-users (HRs, 0.68 [95% CI, 0.50 to 0.94] and 1.43 [95% CI, 0.99 to 2.07], respectively).

“Further work is needed to determine which older individuals will benefit from statins as primary prevention,” the authors write.

Several authors report financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.

References

Orkaby AR, Gaziano JM, Djousse L, Driver JA. Statins for primary prevention of cardiovascular events and mortality in older men [published online September 11, 2017]. J Am Geri Soc. doi: 10.1111/jgs.14993