Statins After Age 80 May Cut Risk for Death and Coronary Events

 FYI.

Statins After Age 80 May Cut Risk for Death and Coronary Events

TOPLINE: 

Statin therapy for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease in adults aged 80 years or older was associated with reduced risks for all-cause mortality and new coronary events.

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers conducted a population-based retrospective cohort study using data from electronic medical records and a pharmacy dispensing database in Israel, covering the years 2015 to 2020.
• They assessed the clinical benefits of statin therapy for primary prevention in 15,745 adults aged 80 years or older, with 8413 being statin users (average age, 83.7 years; 95.2% initiated before the age of 80 years) and 7332 nonusers (average age, 85.5 years).
• The outcomes assessed were all-cause mortality and incident coronary events, myopathy, dementia, and diabetes, identified from diagnostic codes.
• Researchers assessed the associations between the use of statins and clinical outcomes over a mean follow-up duration of 4 years; adherence was determined using the medication possession ratio (MPR), categorized as ≥ 80% vs < 80%.

TAKEAWAY:

• Statin-treated patients had a lower risk for all-cause mortality than nonusers (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 0.69; P < .001).
• Statin use for primary prevention was associated with a 20% reduction in the risk for new coronary events (aHR, 0.80; P = .008).
• Across adherence strata, the risk for mortality was lower for those with MPR ≥ 80% (aHR, 0.58) and those with MPR < 80% (aHR, 0.74) compared with nonusers.
• No significant differences were observed between statin users and nonusers in the incidence of new-onset myopathy, diabetes, or dementia.

IN PRACTICE:

"[The study] provides support for the argument that statin treatment improves clinical outcomes even in patients older than 80 years of age," the authors wrote.

SOURCE:

The study was led by Ophir Lavon of the Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology Unit at the Carmel Medical Center in Haifa, Israel. It was published online on March 7, 2026, as a brief report in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

LIMITATIONS: 

The retrospective design of the study prevented independent data validation, and all data were obtained from a single region in Israel. Residual confounding cannot be ruled out. Cardiovascular mortality outcomes could not be validated and were excluded from the analysis.

DISCLOSURES:

The authors reported no specific funding. The authors disclosed having no conflicts of interest.