Monday 28 March 2016

Statins associated with a 54% increased risk of brain haemorrhage.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

Although a concern exists that 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitors (statins) might increase the risk of intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH), the contribution of these agents to the relationship between serum cholesterol and disease occurrence has been poorly investigated.

METHODS:

We compared consecutive patients having ICH with age and sex-matched stroke-free control subjects in a case-control analysis, as part of the Multicenter Study on Cerebral Haemorrhage in Italy (MUCH-Italy), and tested the presence of interaction effects between total serum cholesterol levels and statins on the risk of ICH.

RESULTS:

A total of 3492 cases (mean age, 73.0±12.7 years; males, 56.6%) and 3492 control subjects were enrolled. Increasing total serum cholesterol levels were confirmed to be inversely associated with ICH. We observed a statistical interaction between total serum cholesterol levels and statin use for the risk of haemorrhage (Interaction OR (IOR), 1.09; 95% CI 1.05 to 1.12). Increasing levels of total serum cholesterol were associated with a decreased risk of ICH within statin strata (average OR, 0.87; 95% CI 0.86 to 0.88 for every increase of 0.26 mmol/l of total serum cholesterol concentrations), while statin use was associated with an increased risk (OR, 1.54; 95% CI 1.31 to 1.81 of the average level of total serum cholesterol). The protective effect of serum cholesterol against ICH was reduced by statins in strictly lobar brain regions more than in non-lobar ones.

CONCLUSIONS:

Statin therapy and total serum cholesterol levels exhibit interaction effects towards the risk of ICH. The magnitude of such effects appears higher in lobar brain regions.
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3 comments:

  1. Margaret D29 March 2016 at 01:51

    I would ever take Statin but people do.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Crafty Green Poet29 March 2016 at 14:13

    I never cease to wonder why doctors are so obsessed with statins as a miracle essential drug, when there is so much evidence of the harm they do....

    ReplyDelete
  3. Debby Ray30 March 2016 at 17:55

    Everything here looks so delicious. I take red yeast rice which is a natural "statin" and it works for me! Better than taking meds, I say!

    ReplyDelete

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