Statins are drugs that are commonly used to reduce cholesterol levels, so they are often used in the treatment of hypercholesterolemia. As has already happened with other drugs, it has been discovered that its consumption could have other health benefits, in addition to preventing the onset of cardiovascular diseases; Specifically, a new study presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Anesthesiologists and in which more than 38,000 patients have participated suggests that statins reduce the severity of COVID-19 and the risk of dying from it.
“While there is no ‘silver bullet’ to help patients who are very ill with COVID-19, statins decrease inflammation, which can help reduce the severity of the disease,” said Dr. Ettore Crimi , lead author of the study and professor of anesthesiology and critical care medicine at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, USA. “The results of our study clearly showed that regular use of statins is associated with a lower risk of death and better outcomes in patients hospitalized with COVID-19.”
This study is one of the most extensive on the regular use of statins in patients with COVID-19, although it is not the first time that the consumption of these drugs has been found to decrease the chances of developing severe COVID, since a study carried out by Spanish scientists from CIBERDEM at the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV) and the Pere Virgili Health Research Institute (IISPV) in November 2020 discovered that patients who follow statin treatment and become infected with the SARS-CoV- 2 have a 22% to 25% lower risk of dying from the disease.
37% lower risk of dying from COVID in statin users
The researchers analyzed the electronic medical records of 38,875 patients who had been admitted for COVID-19 to 185 US hospitals between January 1 and September 30, 2020. 30% of them were taking statins regularly to treat cholesterol. high, and found that statin users had a 37% lower risk of dying from COVID-19 than those who did not take these drugs.
“Regular use of statins is associated with a lower risk of death and better outcomes in hospitalized patients with COVID-19”
In addition, regular statin users were significantly less likely to be sent to the intensive care unit (ICU) or hospice, or to develop blood clots. Their hospital stays were also shorter and they spent less time on a ventilator.
COVID-19 causes inflammation, but also in some patients their own immune system triggers further inflammation because it responds excessively aggressively to the coronavirus infection – something that has been called a ‘cytokine storm’ – and this powerful reaction causes a much of the problems the body suffers from, including breathing difficulties and damage to the lungs, kidneys, heart, brain, and vascular system. The anti-inflammatory properties of statins “cool down the process” so that the disease is not as severe, explained Dr. Crimi.
“This research illustrates the importance of evaluating drugs that could be repurposed to help patients in ways other than intended,” said Dr. Crimi, concluding: “Our results suggest that statins could be an additional cost-effective solution against severity of COVID-19 disease and should be studied further.”
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