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Do Statins Reduce Risk for Dementia?

In two studies of older people, statin use was not associated with dementia diagnoses.

Several cross-sectional and case-control studies have suggested that statins protect against development of dementia. However, prospective studies are better suited to examine this relation.

In one study, researchers prospectively followed more than 4000 nondemented residents of a Utah county (age, 65). At 3-year follow-up, 185 cases of dementia were diagnosed. After adjustment for potential confounders, statin use at baseline or at follow-up was not associated with reduced risk for incident dementia or Alzheimer disease.

In another study, researchers prospectively followed more than 2000 nondemented people in a Seattle HMO (age, 65) for about 7 years; 312 developed dementia during this interval. As in the Utah study, multivariate analyses failed to reveal any association between statin use and incident dementia or Alzheimer disease. Even patients with long durations of statin use and those who used high doses did not experience reduced risk for dementia.

Comment: The findings from these prospective studies cast some doubt on the idea that statins prevent dementia. Supporting these results are two large randomized trials (lasting 5 and 3 years) in which researchers observed no differences in cognitive function between statin and placebo groups (Journal Watch Jul 30 2002 and Journal Watch Jan 7 2003). The possibility remains that long-term statin exposure, started early in life, confers some protection against cognitive decline.

— Allan S. Brett, MD

Published in Journal Watch General Medicine February 22, 2005

Citation(s):

Zandi PP et al. Do statins reduce risk of incident dementia and Alzheimer disease? The Cache County Study. Arch Gen Psychiatry 2005 Feb; 62:217-24.

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• Medline abstract (Free)

Li G et al. Statin therapy and risk of dementia in the elderly: A community-based prospective cohort study. Neurology 2004 Nov 9; 63:1624-8.

• Original article (Subscription may be required)
• Medline abstract (Free)