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Heart health in aging kidneys: Can statins help?

Cardiovascular disease Cardiovascular disease
Cardiovascular disease Cardiovascular disease

What's new?

Statins are more than just a heart disease treatment—they are a lifeline for seniors battling kidney disease, helping them live longer, healthier lives.

Researchers have discovered that statins—commonly prescribed for cholesterol—can dramatically slash the risk of heart disease and death for older adults with chronic kidney disease (CKD), as per the findings of a target trial emulation study published in ‘The Lancet Health Longevity’. These benefits extend to even the frailest seniors, including those aged 85 and beyond, with no added risk of severe side effects.

For years, medical experts have been uncertain about prescribing statins to elderly patients with kidney disease, due to a lack of robust data. This new research by Wanchun Xu et al., however, challenged that uncertainty, showing that statins not only protect against heart disease but also improve overall survival rates in old age.

The study, which tapped into a vast public health database from Hong Kong, tracked nearly 19,000 patients aged 75-84 years and 8,800 patients over 85, all dealing with CKD and high cholesterol. The main findings of the study include:'

1. Cardiovascular Disease Reduction:

  • 75-84 years: Statins reduced the risk of cardiovascular disease by 6% (hazard ratio [HR] 0.94) in intention-to-treat (ITT) and 14% (HR 0.86) in per-protocol (PP) analysis.
  • 85+ years: Statins led to a 12% reduction in cardiovascular disease risk (HR 0.88) in ITT and a 19% reduction (HR 0.81) in PP analysis.

2. All-Cause Mortality:

  • 75-84 years: A 13% reduction in overall mortality (HR 0.87 in ITT, HR 0.78 in PP).
  • 85+ years: An 11% reduction in death rates (HR 0.89 in ITT, HR 0.80 in PP).

3. No Increased Risk of Adverse Events:

  • Safety Check: No noteworthy increase in side effects like muscle pain (myopathy) or liver dysfunction, confirming statins’ safety even in the most fragile seniors.

The research utilized a different tactic, mimicking a controlled clinical trial using real-world data—a breakthrough methodology that adds weight to these findings. This powerful evidence now opens the door to broader statin use among hypercholesterolemic elderly patients with kidney disease, potentially saving thousands of lives and transforming heart disease prevention for the aging population.

Source:

The Lancet Health Longevity

Article:

Effectiveness and safety of using statin therapy for the primary prevention of cardiovascular diseases in older patients with chronic kidney disease who are hypercholesterolemic: a target trial emulation study

Authors:

Wanchun Xu et al.

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