Multiple research teams have reported that statin users face a reduced risk of dying from COVID-19. A team out of Canada aimed to learn more about this potential link, sharing their findings in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
The group examined data from 469,749 patients who underwent testing for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that can lead to COVID-19. Patients were tested throughout Alberta and Ontario, Canada, in the first six months of 2020.
The patients tested in Alberta—more than 274,000 in total—were all 18 years old or older. Their median age was 45 years old. While 2.2% of these patients tested positive, the team also noted that that number was actually 1.4% if looking just as patients over the age of 65 years old.
The patients tested in Ontario, on the other hand, were all over the age of 65. Nearly 195,000 patients were included in that cohort, and 4.1% tested positive. The median age of that group was 81 years old.
Though just 7% of patients between the ages of 18 and 65 were on statins, that number was 41.1% for patients over the age of 65.
Overall, the group determined, statin users were just as likely to test positive for SARS-CoV-2 as individuals who weren't taking statins. Patient outcomes were also comparable among those who did, in fact, have COVID-19.
When looking specifically at statin users 75 years old and older, the authors did observe a lower 30-day all-cause mortality risk. However, those patients were more likely to end up hospitalized or in the emergency department.
The study's authors wrote that a massive randomized trial focused on statin users over the age of 75 is likely needed before any definitive statements can be made about COVID-19 mortality in this patient population.
"Until such a randomized trial is conducted, we believe the most reasonable assumption is that while statins have many indications for which definitive proof of their benefit already exists, prevention of SARS‐CoV‐2 infection or improving outcomes in those hospitalized with COVID‐19 are unproven," wrote first author Finlay A. McAlister, MD, MSc, with the University of Alberta in Canada, and colleagues. "However, our data do demonstrate the safety of continuing statin therapy in patients infected with SARS‐CoV‐2."
Read the full study here.