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Decreased prevalence of dementia associated with statins: a national population‐based study
Author(s) -
Chuang C.S.,
Lin C.L.,
Lin M.C.,
Sung F.C.,
Kao C.H.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
european journal of neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.881
H-Index - 124
eISSN - 1468-1331
pISSN - 1351-5101
DOI - 10.1111/ene.12402
Subject(s) - medicine , dementia , hazard ratio , statin , proportional hazards model , confidence interval , population , physical therapy , environmental health , disease
Background and purpose Dementia is a neurodegenerative disorder that presents a progressive decline in cognitive function and loss of short‐term memory with age. Several studies have shown that statin, an oral lipid‐lowering drug, may reduce the risk of developing dementia. The objective of this study is to explore the association between statin and the development of dementia. Methods The data analyzed in this study were retrieved from the National Health Insurance Research Database in Taiwan. The sample consisted of 123 300 patients ≥ 20 years of age, including 61 650 dementia patients with statin use and 61 650 patients without statin use who were eligible for inclusion in this study. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression analyses were performed to measure the effects of statin use on the risk of dementia. Results The beneficial effect of statin on dementia was significant after adjusting for sociodemographic factors and comorbidities (adjusted hazard ratio of 0.92, 95% confidence interval 0.86–0.98). The sex‐ and age‐specific analysis of adjusted hazard ratios showed a higher beneficial effect from statin treatment in women than in men, and the effect became more significant with age. Conclusion Statin therapy may help prevent the development of dementia, and both hydrophilic and lipophilic statins produce similar effects. However, the preventive characters and associated mechanisms must be further explored and identified.