Contents

Search

Statins & the risk of dementia

Also see statins & Alzheimer's disease Ref [1] Data source: UK General Practice Research Database Patient population: 60,901 patients, age 50-89 Time of study: 1992-1998 Results: 1) 284 patients developed dementia 2) compared against 1080 controls matched for age, sex, general practice, years of control 3) cases of dementia a) 4% had received statins b) 9% had received non-statin lipid-lowering agents c) 10% had untreated hyperlipidemia d) 77% without hyperlipidemia* 4) controls a) 11% had received statins b) 7% had received non-statin lipid-lowering agents c) 13% had untreated hyperlipidemia d) 69% without hyperlipidemia* * not treated for hyperlipidemia either Multivariate analysis: 1) use statins associated with significantly lower risk of dementia (RR* = 0.29) 2) use of non-statin lipid-lowering agents did not lower risk of dementia (RR = 0.96) 3) RR = 0.72 for untreated hyperlipidemia * RR: relative risk Ref [3] Prospective study [3] (Zandi et al) 4000 non-demented residents of Utah, age > 64 after 3 years, 185 cases of dementia no difference in incidence of dementia for statin users vs non users Prospective study [3] (Li et al) 100 non demented members of Seattle HMO, age > 64 after 7 years, 312 cases of dementia no difference in incidence of dementia for statin users vs non users Ref [4] Study design: prospective observational study 1674 participants, predominantly Mexican-American 60 years of age and older in the Sacramento Area Latino Study on Aging (SALSA) Results: 5-year follow-up period; statin use was associated with a 43% decrease in dementia or cognitive impairment without meeting criteria for dementia Ref [5] Cochrane Review . Study characteristics - double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trials in which statins were administered for >= 12 months to people at risk for dementia - all participants with history of, or risk factors for, vascular disease - two trials with 26,340 participants aged 40-82 years, 11,610 >= 70 years of age - simvastatin or pravastatin - mean follow-up was 3.2 years in one study, 5 years in another - Results - no differences between statin & placebo groups on five on 5 different cognitive tests (high quality evidence) Ref [6] - lipophilic statins (simvastatin & atorvastatin) associated with decreased AD risk in whites, Hispanics, & black women - hydrophilic statins (pravastatin & rosuvastatin) associated with reduced risk only in white women - statin use did not decrease AD risk in black men [6]

Related

dementia; Alzheimer's disease & related dementias (ADRD) HMG CoA reductase inhibitor (statin) hyperlipidemia statins & Alzheimer's disease

Specific

CNS white matter tract fasciculus

General

epidemiologic study

References

  1. Journal Watch 21(1):3-4, 2001 Jick H, Zornberg GL, Jick SS, Seshadri S, Drachman DA. Statins and the risk of dementia. Lancet. 2000 Nov 11;356(9242):1627-31. Erratum in: Lancet 2001 Feb 17;357(9255):562. PMID: 11089820
  2. Prescriber's Letter 11(7):40 2004
  3. Journal Watch 25(6):52, 2005 Zandi PP, Sparks DL, Khachaturian AS, Tschanz J, Norton M, Steinberg M, Welsh-Bohmer KA, Breitner JC; Cache County Study investigators. Do statins reduce risk of incident dementia and Alzheimer disease? The Cache County Study. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2005 Feb;62(2):217-24. PMID: 15699299 - Li G, Higdon R, Kukull WA, Peskind E, Van Valen Moore K, Tsuang D, van Belle G, McCormick W, Bowen JD, Teri L, Schellenberg GD, Larson EB. Statin therapy and risk of dementia in the elderly: a community-based prospective cohort study. Neurology. 2004 Nov 9;63(9):1624-8. PMID: 15534246
  4. Cramer C et al. Use of statins and incidence of dementia and cognitive impairment without dementia in a cohort study. Neurology 2008 Jul 29; 71:344. PMID: 18663180
  5. McGuinness B, Craig D, Bullock R, Passmore P. Statins for the prevention of dementia. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2016;1:CD003160 PMID: 26727124
  6. Zissimopoulos JM, Barthold D, Brinton RD, Joyce G. Sex and race differences in the association between statin use and the incidence of Alzheimer disease. JAMA Neurol 2016 Dec 12 PMID: 27942728 http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaneurology/article-abstract/2591317