Statin use is associated with a decreased risk of death among patients with advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD), according to researchers.
In a study of 10,204 patients with advanced CKD (all of whom had been prescribed erythropoiesis-stimulating agents for anemia), investigators found that statin users had a significant 41% reduction in death risk compared with a propensity score-matched group of non-users, Tao-Min Huang, MD, of National Taiwan University Hospital in Zhongzheng, Taipei, and colleagues reported in the Journal of Clinical Medicine. The reduction in death risk was due largely to a decrease in sepsis-related mortality. Statin use was associated with a significant 47% decreased risk of sepsis-related death.
Statins could help treat and prevent of sepsis by targeting a number of inflammatory and immune-modulating cascades involved in sepsis, the investigators explained.
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“Our study supports the clinical benefit of statin therapy among advanced CKD patients in the reduction of all-cause mortality and especially sepsis-related mortality,” the authors wrote.
Statin use was not associated with development of new-onset diabetes mellitus (NODM) or decreased risk of new major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE).
The study compared 2551 new users of statins and a propensity score-matched group of 7653 who did not use statins. Statin users and non-users had a mean age of 59.4 and 59.7 years, respectively. Women made up approximately 64% of each group.
Reference
Huang TM, Wu VC, Lin YF, et al. Effects of statin use in advanced chronic kidney disease patients. J Clin Med. 2018;7(9). pii: E285
