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Statin Therapy in Rheumatic Diseases: Promising, But Not Ready for Routine Care
November 13 2016 6:08 PM ET — via RheumReports
A thought-provoking study entitled "Survival Benefit of Statin Use in AS and PsA" was presented during the ACR 2016 plenary session on Sunday morning by Dr. Oza from Mass General Hospital in Boston.
There has been much attention paid recently to the increased risk of cardiovascular and all-cause mortality in rheumatologic diseases, first RA but more recently, in AS and PsA as well. The hypothesis of this study was that statins may improve survival via dual effects on lowering lipids and inflammation.
This was a large incident user cohort study with propensity score matching using a UK general population database of AS and PsA patients. Propensity score matching accounts for potential confounding by indication bias. Close to 3000 patients with AS or PsA who initiated statin therapy were compared with the same number of propensity-matched patients who did not start statins over a 5-year period.
Statin initiation was associated with a 33% reduction in all-cause mortality. This magnitude of reduction is greater than what was seen in previous cohort studies of RA (21%) and the general population (9-14%). The reason for this difference is not clear.
Before routinely adding a statin to our patients' treatment regimen, more evidence is needed. No data on side effects or on combination with biologic treatment was available, so a few questions remain.
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About the Author
Dr. Shelly Dunne
Dr. Shelley Dunne is a graduate of Memorial University of Newfoundland School of Medicine. She completed her training in Internal Medicine and a fellowship in Rheumatology at the University of Toronto. She has been in private practice since 1998 and is currently a consulting rheumatologist at the Toronto East General Hospital.
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