Statins may lower risk of death in dementia

Using statins was significantly associated with a decreased risk for mortality in dementia patients, according to research presented at the European Academy of Neurology Congress.

"Survival in patients in dementia is variable, and previous studies have identified many factors associated with survival and risk of stroke in these patients," Bojana Petek, MD, from the University Medical Center Ljubljana, Slovenia and the Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, said in a press release. "However, the effect of statins on these two outcomes is not clear. The aim of this study was to analyze the association between the use of statins on the risk of death and stroke in patients diagnosed with dementia."

In this prospective registry-based cohort study, the researchers examined 44,920 patients with dementia from the Swedish Dementia Registry between 2008 and2015. They found that patients with dementia who used statins had a 22% lower risk for all-cause death compared to matched nonusers. In addition, statin users were at 23% lower risk for stroke, according to the release.

The investigators observed that statins had the strongest protective effect on survival in patients younger than age 75 years (27% decrease in risk) and in men (26% decrease). However, statin use was associated with a 17% decreased risk for death among women and a 20% decreased risk among older patients. Among patients with vascular dementia, the researchers also found a 29% lower risk for death, according to the release.

“This is a cohort study, which means patients were not randomized to a treatment like they would be in a clinical trial. For this reason, we can only show an association, and not definitely prove that statins caused this decline in mortality,” Sara Garcia-Ptacek, MD, PhD, from the Karolinska Institutet, said in the release. “However, our results are encouraging and suggest that patients with dementia benefit from statins to a similar extent than patients without dementia.” – by Savannah Demko

References:

Petek B, et al. Statins, risk of death and stroke in patients with dementia – a registry-based study. Presented at: European Academy of Neurology Congress; June 29 to July 2, 2019; Oslo, Norway.

Disclosures: Healio Psychiatry was unable to confirm any relevant financial disclosures at the time of publication.