Statins and older patients: who benefits?

Statins show no benefit in healthy patients aged over 75, although they do reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease in those with type 2 diabetes, a study has found.

The European research looked at data on more than 46,800 people aged over 75 without clinically recognised cardiovascular disease.

They found no link between statin use and a reduction in atherosclerotic CVD or all-cause mortality.

However, for those with type 2 diabetes and under the age of 85, statins lowered the risk of CVD and all-cause mortality. 

“These results do not support the widespread use of statins in old and very old populations, but they do support treatment in those with type 2 diabetes younger than 85 years,” the researchers reported in the BMJ.

Researchers looked at a Spanish database of patient records from primary care practices, including information on