Good But Old News – Statins Decease Pneumonia Deaths

Back in 2003 a study was published in the journal Respiratory Research that described a protective effect of statin drugs on the outcome inpatients with pneumonia. It failed to attract much attention at the time, but now a larger study from Denmark has been picked up by the New York Times, with the headline “Statins may lower odds of pneumonia death”. It will add to the bundle of evidence that statins are good for a lot more than just lowering LDL-cholesterol.
The Danish study, reported in October’s Archives of Internal Medicine analyzed almost 30,000 patients treated for pneumonia between 1997 and 2004 in northern Denmark. Of those patients, more than 1,300 were taking statins at the time of their illness; their average age was 73. There were 10% deaths amongst them after 30 days and 17% deaths after 90 days, compared with 16% and 22% deaths in statin non-users. Former users of statins were not protected in this way.
It seems that the effect of the statins is unrelated to bacterial entry into the body; the levels of bacteria in the blood of both groups of patients were similar, and the number of complications of pneumonia only slightly reduced, non-significantly, in statin users.
The overall benefit is not so great that experts advise more widespread use of statin drugs than at present. However, more and more potential uses for this class of medicines strengthen the clamor for more liberal prescribing of the drugs.