Statins Reduce Cardiovascular Events in OA and RA

Statins help reduce total cholesterol (TC) concentrations in patients with osteoarthritis (OA) or rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The use of statins is associated with reduced cardiovascular (CV) events and mortality in patients with RA and reduced mortality in those with OA in primary prevention.

Sheng and associates conducted a population-based cohort study of patients with OA or RA who had at least 2 separate TC measurements. The patients were categorized in statin-exposed and statin-unexposed groups according to statin use status during follow-up. The primary study outcome was TC concentration change from baseline; the secondary outcomes were CV events and all-cause mortality during the follow-up.

Statin-associated TC concentrations in OA and RA decreased from baseline by 15% and 16%, respectively, in patients without CV disease and by 7% and 15%, respectively, in patients with CV disease. There were protective effects of statins on CV mortality and all-cause mortality in patients with OA and on CV events and all-cause mortality in patients with RA in primary prevention.

The authors noted that statins were not associated with a reduced risk of CV events or all-cause mortality in secondary prevention and that the persistence of statin treatment was not taken into consideration in the study.