Among older adults, the use of cholesterol-lowering drugs lowered the risk of dying from a cardiovascular event by about 20 percent, a study shows.
The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, examined data on veterans who used U.S. Veterans Health Administration services between 2002 and 2012. They were 75 years or older and had not previously had a heart attack, stroke or other cardiovascular event.
Of 326,981 eligible veterans included in the study, 57,178 started taking common cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins during the study period.
Researchers found the risk of dying from a cardiovascular event, such as a heart attack or stroke, was lower by 20 percent among veterans using statins compared to those who were not taking the drugs.
Overall, the risk of dying from any cause was lower by 25 percent among veterans using statins.
"Statins are commonly studied and prescribed for middle-aged adults but understudied in people over age 75," said Ariela Orkaby, MD, a physician scientist at VA Boston Health Care System and at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. "One of the most remarkable things about our results is that we found the benefit of statins held true regardless of whether a person was older or younger or had a condition such as dementia."
Dr. Orkaby is the lead and corresponding author of the study.