Cholesterol-Lowering Statins Linked to Reduced Risk of Death From COVID-19 in Major Study

Statins are a recommended and common intervention to prevent cardiovascular events by lowering the levels of lipoprotein cholesterol in the blood. During the pandemic, it has been debated whether statins affect the risk of death from COVID-19. Researchers at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have now conducted the largest population study to date in the field. The study, published in PLOS Medicine, indicates that statin treatment slightly reduces mortality from COVID-19.

Statins are used to lower cholesterol – the number of lipids – in the blood and are a common preventative treatment in patients at high risk for cardiovascular events.

During the pandemic, the question of whether statins can reduce mortality from COVID-19 through their effects on blood clotting and the immune system has puzzled scientists and doctors.

Previous studies have been inconclusive and have often suffered from the limitation that only hospitalizations are included. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have now conducted the largest population study to date on the relationship between statins and COVID-19 death.

Using data from Swedish registries, the researchers tracked 963,876 Stockholm residents over the age of 45 between March and November 2020. The results are based on analyzes of data on the participants’ prescribed medication and health care and from the Cause of Death Register.

The information was analyzed with regard to factors such as diagnosed medical conditions. The results show that statin treatment was associated with a slightly lower risk of dying from COVID-19, a correlation that did not vary significantly between risk groups.

“Our results suggest that statin treatment may have a moderate prophylactic effect on mortality from COVID-19,” said co-first author Rita Bergqvist, a medical student at Karolinska Institutet.

Randomized studies will be needed to establish whether there is a causal relationship, the researchers note.

“Overall, our findings support the continued use of statins for conditions such as cardiovascular disease and high blood lipids in line with current recommendations during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said co-first author Viktor Ahlqvist, doctoral student in the Department of Global Global Research. Public Health, Karolinska Institutet.

A limitation of the study concerns the use of prescription data without the ability to monitor individual drug use. The researchers were also unable to control for risk factors such as smoking and high BMI, only diagnosis of health status.

Reference: “HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors and COVID-19 mortality in Stockholm, Sweden: a registry-based cohort study” by Rita Bergqvist, Viktor H. Ahlqvist, Michael Lundberg, Maria-Pia Hergens, Johan Sundström, Max Bell, and Cecilia Magnusson , Oct. 14, 2021, PLOS Medicine.
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1003820

The researchers received no funding for the study. Co-author Johan Sundström has shares in Eli Lilly, Boehringer, Bayer, Pfizer, AstraZeneca and others; there are no other reported conflicts of interest.