Statins cholesterol-lowering drugs for the elderly are not fully recommended

Statins are useful in healthy people over 75 years?

Researchers now found that healthy people over the age of 75 should not take so-called statins to reduce their risk of heart disease or strokes. The intake does not lead to an improved protective effect in these persons

Researchers at the University of Salamanca and the University of Girona in Spain found in their recent research that it makes no sense for people over the age of 75 to take statins to protect themselves from heart disease or stroke. The physicians published the results of their study in the English-language journal British Medical Journal (BMJ).

There are different views on the use of statins. Researchers now said that healthy people over the age of 75 should not take statins to protect themselves from strokes or heart disease. (Image: roger ashford / fotolia.com)

Healthy older people should not take statins

The analysis of retirees with a mean age of 77 did not benefit from taking statins among those who were healthy anyway. The results show that the widespread use of statins in elderly people should not be supported, argue the Spanish experts.

Statins are often taken to lower cholesterol levels

However, other physicians point out that previous studies with alternative approaches have indicated benefits for over 75s. These people should not stop taking the tablets daily before they consult their family doctor, the critics advise. Statins are often taken to lower high cholesterol. This group of drugs is also referred to as HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors) or cholesterol synthesis enzyme inhibitors (CSE inhibitors).

Subjects were monitored medically for several years

Between 2006 and 2015, the Spanish researchers analyzed the data from almost 47,000 people with an average age of 77 years, which came from the so-called Catalan primary care system database. The participants were medically monitored for an average of 5.6 years. The physicians wanted to determine whether the subjects developed cardiovascular diseases, coronary heart disease, angina pectoris, heart attacks and strokes or even died.

How did the intake of statins affect the participants??

In patients aged 75 years and over without type 2 diabetes, statin use was not associated with a reduction in cardiovascular disease or premature death, the authors of the observational study from Spain explain. But when people were suffering from diabetes, the use of statins was significantly associated with a reduction in the incidence of cardiovascular disease and premature death. The new study is likely to further fuel controversy over the use of statins.

Contradictory opinions about statins

While many scholars agree that statins are safe and generally effective, the official criteria that NHS practitioners use to decide if a single patient needs the drug is often criticized as a blunt instrument. For example, the National Institute for Health & Care Excellence has stated that statins should be offered to anyone with a 20% risk of developing cardiovascular disease within 10 years. In 2014, the threshold was even reduced to ten percent. However, studies have shown that tens of thousands of people exceed the risk threshold on the basis of their age alone, the experts report.

Guidelines on cholesterol-lowering medicines are mixed

Internationally, guidelines on cholesterol-lowering medicines are mixed and, for example, British authorities recommend statin for primary prevention in people who have not yet had a cardiovascular event by the age of 84 years. (As)