Chest
Original ResearchNovel PharmacotherapyInfluenza and COPD Mortality Protection as Pleiotropic, Dose-Dependent Effects of Statins
Section snippets
Materials and Methods
We conducted a matched cohort study and two case-control studies to evaluate whether statin use is associated with a reduced risk of death from pneumonia/influenza or COPD. For the case-control studies, two groups of cases and control subjects were selected based on two outcomes: pneumonia/influenza and COPD. This research protocol was reviewed and ruled exempt under the Code of Federal Regulations protection of human subjects.29 The Lovelace Patient Database (LPD), a deidentified,
Matched Cohort Study
Table 1 lists the characteristics of the patients in the matched cohort. Among the 19,058 HMO members with a statin pharmacy fill, 11,583 patients (60.8%) received at least 4 mg/d during phase 2. Statin daily dose was lowest in members born after 1945 (p < 0.001). Statin users had a higher mean number of different medications received in phase 1. A higher fraction of moderate-daily-dose users (≥ 4 mg/d) had three or more influenza vaccinations in phase 2. Significantly more statin users (both
Discussion
This study found a dramatically reduced risk of death from COPD among statin users and a significantly reduced risk of death from influenza/pneumonia. Since the reductions were observed in both the cohort and case-control studies, it is unlikely they could be due to artifacts of either study design or the analysis.
These findings suggest that moderate-dose statin use reduces the risk of influenza/pneumonia death and strongly suggest that statins reduce the risk of COPD death. Both findings are
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Statins and clinical outcomes with COVID-19: Meta-analyses of observational studies
2021, Diabetes and MetabolismCitation Excerpt :In contrast, other studies have reported disappointing results with the use of statins as a late treatment for ARDS [41,42]. On the other hand, statins have been shown to improve prognoses and reduce mortality among patients in hospital with influenza virus infections [43–45]. An association between outpatient statin treatment and reduction of disease severity among patients hospitalized during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic has also been reported [46].
Association of Pre-Admission Statin Use With Reduced In-Hospital Mortality in COVID-19
2021, American Journal of the Medical SciencesCitation Excerpt :These pleotropic effects of statins are evidence of beneficial effects in a variety of diseases like inflammatory bowel diseases,21-23 autoimmune diseases,24 chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD),25,26 cancer27-29 and various infections.30-32 Furthermore, several observational studies in patients with influenza have shown a mortality benefit with statin therapy.26,33,34 Given these multifaceted benefits of statins, we aimed to study the effects of statins on the outcomes of patients admitted to the hospital with COVID-19 infection.
Effect of statin use on the risk of influenza and influenza vaccine effectiveness
2021, International Journal of CardiologyStatins in COVID-19 infection: A rehash of old themes or truly a new hope?
2021, Journal of Clinical LipidologyAssociation between antecedent statin use and severe disease outcomes in COVID-19: A retrospective study with propensity score matching
2021, Journal of Clinical LipidologyCitation Excerpt :In the United States alone, almost a quarter of the population above the age of 40 years are on a statin medication.1 In the past, studies have tried to elucidate the role of statins in other viral infections including influenza,2–4 Ebola virus,5,6 and MERS.7 Some observational studies have noted the association of statins with a significant decrease in the mortality from influenza,4 and community-acquired pneumonia.8
This work was performed at Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute.
The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.