Are statins beneficial for CVD prevention in diabetics across all age groups?

You-Cheol Hwang, Kyung Hee University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea, and colleagues in a propensity score-matched cohort analysis addressed the question of whether statin use is associated with a reduction in CVD and mortality in patients with T2D without pre-existing CVD. 

For achieving their objective the researchers created a propensity score-matched cohort analysis using retrospective data. Statin users received at least a 90-day prescription and never used statin before initiation of the study. Statin non-users never received statin throughout the study.

The primary outcome was a composite of myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, and all-cause death, and the secondary outcome was an individual event. 

The propensity score-matched cohort included 168,045 statin users and 168,045 non-users (mean age 57 years; median follow-up 5.0 years). 

Based on the findings, the researchers concluded, statin showed a protective effect against CVD and all-cause death in type 2 diabetes; this effect was reduced beyond the age of 75 years and disappeared in young patients aged <40 years.

Reference:

The study titled, "Statin use for primary prevention in patients with type 2 diabetes: Can it benefit all ages? – A nationwide propensity-matched cohort study," is published in the journal Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice.

DOI: https://www.diabetesresearchclinicalpractice.com/article/S0168-8227(21)00403-4/fulltext