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Statins decreased risk for Barrett's esophagus
Statin use was associated with a significantly reduced risk for Barrett’s esophagus, especially among obese patients, according to research data.
“We believe that our findings are suggestive of a protective effect of statins on the risk for developing Barrett’s esophagus (BE) and, if confirmed by other studies, may pave the way toward evaluating these agents for prevention in high risk patients,” Hashem B. El-Serag, MD, MPH, from the Houston VA Medical Center and Baylor College of Medicine, told Healio.com/Gastroenterology.
To assess the effect that statin use had on risk for BE, El-Serag and colleagues conducted a case-control study comparing 303 BE patients with 909 sex-matched controls (606 elective endoscopy controls, 303 primary care controls without BE) recruited from a Veterans Affairs center between 2008 and 2013.
Hashem B. El-Serag
Use of statins and similar medications was identified from pharmacy records spanning the 10-year period before BE diagnosis or endoscopy date. Simvastatin was used by 94.3% of the 783 patients and controls who received statin prescriptions. Mean age of the total cohort was 61.2 years; 97.7% were men, and 75% were white.
Compared with 64.9% of endoscopy controls and 71.3% of primary care controls, 57.4% of BE patients filled statin prescriptions (P=.029 and P<.001, respectively). Controls collectively filled statin prescriptions for longer durations than did BE patients (mean 28.6 vs. 22.1 months; P=.001).
Statin use was associated with a reduced risk for BE (adjusted OR=0.57; 95% CI, 0.38-0.87) compared with controls. The greatest risk reduction for BE was among obese patients (OR=0.26; 95% CI, 0.09-0.71), and there was a lower risk for BE segments 3 cm or greater in this subgroup (OR=0.13; 95% CI, 0.06-0.3).
“Patients who received statins had a 43% reduction in the odds of having BE compared to nonusers,” El-Serag said in a press release. “This is the first study to find a significantly lower risk of BE with statin use, independent of other known risk factors. Further studies are needed to examine this association.”
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.