Statins for primary prevention among elderly men and women

Aims: We undertook a propensity match-weighted cohort study to investigate whether statin treatment recommendations for statins translate into improved cardiovascular (CV) outcomes in the current routine clinical care of the elderly. Methods and results: We included in our analysis (ISACS Archives -NCT04008173) a total of 5,619 Caucasian patients with no known prior history of CV disease who presented to hospital with a first manifestation of CV disease with age of 65 years or older. The risk of ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) was much lower in statin users than in nonusers in both patients aged 65 to 75 years (14.7% absolute risk reduction; relative risk [RR]: 0.55, 95% CI 0.45 to 0.66) and those aged 76 years and older (13.3% absolute risk reduction; RR: 0.58, 95% CI 0.46 to 0.72). Estimates were similar in patients with and without history of hypercholesterolemia (interaction test; p value= 0.2408). Proportional reductions in STEMI diminished with female sex in the old (p for interaction = 0.002), but not in the very old age (p for interaction = 0.26). We also observed a remarkable reduction in the risk of 30- day mortality from STEMI with statin therapy in both age groups (10.2% absolute risk reduction; RR: 0.39; 95%CI 0.23-0.68 for patients aged 76 or over and 3.8% absolute risk reduction; RR 0.37; 95%CI 0.17-0.82 for patients aged 65 to 75 years old; interaction test, p value = 0.4570). Conclusions: Preventive statin therapy in the elderly reduces the risk of STEMI with benefits in mortality from STEMI, irrespective of the presence of a history of hypercholesterolemia. This effect persists after the age of 76 years. Benefits are less pronounced in women. Randomized clinical trials may contribute to more definitively determine the role of statin therapy in the elderly. Translational perspective: In this register-based cohort study with match propensity-based design of patients without known prior history of CV disease, we compared statin users versus nonusers in two age groups: 65 to 75 years and 76 years and older. Statin use was associated with a 13% absolute reduction in the risk of ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) in patients 76 years and older irrespective of the presence of a history of hypercholesterolemia. Statin use was also significantly related to a 10.2% reduction in 30-day mortality from STEMI. Estimates were similar in patients aged 65 to 75 years. Benefits were less pronounced in women. This study demonstrates that preventive statin therapy is broadly effective at reducing the risk of major cardiovascular events and mortality in the elderly. Results may inform future research and current guidelines.