Statins may lower dementia risk in hypercholesterolemia patients, finds study

The patients were classified into two groups: statin exposure and statin non-exposure in accordance with medication possession ratio. Dementia was defined as those with primary diagnostic dementia codes such as F00‐F03, G30, G31.1, G31.9, or G31.82. The prospective association between statin exposure and dementia risk were investigated using Cox proportional hazards regression models.

The patients were followed for a median of 11.7 years. During the follow-up, 711 cases of dementia occurred, accounting for 11.5% of the total study population (statin exposure group, 8.2%; statin non-exposure group, 12.9%). 

Read Also: CAC score may help regulate statins in patients with borderline ASCVD risk

Key findings of the study include:

"Hypercholesterolaemic individuals exposed to statin had a lower risk of overall dementia and Alzheimer's disease and related dementia in both sexes, and a lower risk of other types of dementia in women, than subjects who were not exposed to statins," concluded the authors. 

Read Also: Declining Kidney function linked to cognitive impairment in high BP patients

The study, "Statin exposure and the risk of dementia in individuals with hypercholesterolemia," is published in the Journal of Internal Medicine.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/joim.13134