Statins May Reduce Risk of Death

In the study of 14,828 people older than 65 years with chronic kidney disease, researchers found that statin use was associated with a 9% lower risk of dying from any cause.

People taking a statin also had a 4% lower risk of a major adverse cardiovascular event, such as heart attack or stroke. However, this difference was not statistically significant.

Data came from the Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare system.

Dr. Bradley Serwer is an interventional cardiologist and chief medical officer at VitalSolution, which provides cardiovascular and anesthesiology services to hospitals.

Sewer pointed out the VA “has been a leading source of medical research for many years.”

However, participants in the study were predominantly white men with an average age of 74 years old. As a result, the results may not apply to other groups, such as women or racial and ethnic minorities, Serwer told Healthline.

In addition, “this study did not assess dose or duration of statin therapy in order to determine an optimal outcome,” he said.

And because the study is observational, it does not prove that people with chronic kidney disease who take statins live longer. “It merely shows there is an association with lower all-cause mortality in those who started a statin,” said Serwer, who was not involved in the new research.

The study also did not look specifically at why people taking a statin had a lower risk of dying. But “we know from numerous other studies that statins have multiple benefits aside from merely lowering cholesterol levels,” said Serwer.

“Statin medications have the ability to reduce stroke and heart attack rates independently of lowering cholesterol,” he said. “And statins help stabilize blood vessels and help prevent plaque development and plaque rupture.”

In addition, Yang said people with chronic kidney disease have a higher risk of chronic conditions like hypertension and diabetes, which can lead to the earlier development cardiovascular disease.

This can increase the risk of insulin resistance and dyslipidemia, or unhealthy levels of one or more kinds of fat in your blood, he said.

So “the proven effect of statins to prevent cardiovascular disease in patients with metabolic syndrome likely led to lower rates of cardiovascular events and death in study patients,” he said.

The researchers write that additional research — in particular, a randomized clinical trial — is needed to confirm their results.

However, the findings recommend against withholding or stopping statins in older patients with chronic kidney disease and no history of cardiovascular disease, they said.

Researchers examined data on over 14,000 older adults with chronic kidney disease and no history of cardiovascular disease. Those taking a statin, a class of drugs used to lower cholesterol, had a lower risk of dying from any cause.

Clinical guidelines recommend statin use in people with moderate chronic kidney disease due to their risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. This study reinforces the benefits of statins in this population.

Additional research is needed to confirm the results, including a randomized clinical trial. Research on a more diverse population is also needed to know if statin use benefits all groups similarly.