Two New Reasons to Keep Taking Your Statins

A recent publication in the Journal of Infectious Diseases analyzed data from the CDC (the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) to examine a possible link between the use of statins and influenza-related deaths.  Statins probably have anti-inflammatory and immunity-modulating effects in addition to their main action on high blood lipid levels.  Researchers wanted to see if such effects altered he outcome in severe flu.

More than 3,000 patients hospitalized with lab-confirmed flu were evaluated.  A third of them were taking statins, while 151 of them (5%) died within 30 days of their diagnostic lab test.  Statin users were associated with a lower death rate – 59% that of those who weren’t taking a statin.  In other words, there was an apparent significant protective effect of statin use.    

In a different study, another benefit associated with statin use was demonstrated – this time in survival after head injury.  The findings were published in the Journal of Trauma.  Johns Hopkins University researchers accessed the National Study on Costs and Outcomes of Trauma database encompassing 69 hospitals to select patients 65 or older with severe head injury who survived at least 24 hours.  Their functional outcome was assessed using the Extended Glasgow Outcomes Scale.

Of 523 eligible subjects, 117 (22%) were using statins at the time of injury; 128 died in hospital and 395 were discharged alive.  Statin users were significantly less likely to die in hospital than non-users (9% vs. 15%).  Of 264 patients who were followed up for 12 months after discharge both statin users and non-users and a similar good recovery at 3 months.  At 12 months, however, statin users had a greater likelihood of achieving a “good recovery” (defined by the Glasgow scale as the ability to return to pre-injury activity level); they had a 13% higher chance of reaching this level than non-users.

There you have it – two extra reasons to continue to take your statins, if you’re wavering about their importance to your health.  There are already a number of non-cardiovascular benefits to statin use – just enter the word “statins” in the search Health-and-Age box on the right of this page. (And generic statins are available – ask your family physician.)