The benefits of statins in people without established cardiovascular disease but with cardiovascular risk factors: meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.

Description

The purpose of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the benefits of statin therapy in people without established cardiovascular disease (CVD) but with cardiovascular risk factors. A total of 10 trials including 70 388 individuals (34% of women and 23% diabetic individuals) with a mean age of 63 years who were followed for an average 4.1 years were examined. Statin therapy resulted in reduced plasma total cholesterol (17.1%), LDL cholesterol (25.6%) and triglyceride (9.3%) levels and an increase in HDL cholesterol concentration (3.3%). In addition, statin therapy significantly reduced the risk of all cause mortality (odds ratio (OR) 0.88; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.81 – 0.96), major coronary events (OR 0.70; CI 0.61 – 0.81) and major cerebrovascular events (OR 0.81; CI 0.71 – 0.93). Moreover, statin use was not associated with an increased risk of cancer. In conclusion, in patients with cardiovascular risk factors, long term statin therapy is associated with improved survival and reduction of major cardiovascular events and thus should not be restricted to patients with CVD.