FRIDAY, Jan. 5, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Statin initiation may lower the risk for mortality and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in older adults with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and no prior atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), according to a study published online Dec. 6 in JAMA Network Open.
Odeya Barayev, M.D., from Ben Gurion University of the Negev in Be’er Sheva, Israel, and colleagues evaluated whether new statin use was associated with a lower risk for mortality or MACE among adults older than 65 years with CKD stages 3 to 4 and no history of ASCVD. The analysis included data from 14,828 U.S. veterans.
The researchers found that risk for all-cause mortality was lower among participants initiating statins versus noninitiators (hazard ratio, 0.91; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.85 to 0.97). There was a trend observed toward a lower risk for MACE (hazard ratio, 0.96; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.91 to 1.02). Results persisted in prespecified subgroup analyses.
“Among U.S. veterans older than 65 years with CKD stages 3 to 4 and no prior ASCVD, statin initiation was associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality compared with no statin initiation. Results should be confirmed in a randomized clinical trial,” the authors write. “However, until such trials are completed, these data argue against withholding or deprescribing statins for primary prevention in older patients with CKD stages 3 to 4.”
Several authors disclosed financial ties to Novartis; one author disclosed ties to Anthos Therapeutics.
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