Oxford led study says more elderly people should be using statins
A research team, led by academics from the University of Oxford, say the drugs - which lower harmful cholesterol - are a "cornerstone" in preventing heart disease.
More elderly people should be using statins, experts lead by a team at Oxford University have said. It's after a new study suggested the common drugs can improve health outcomes for over-70s.
The cholesterol-busting medication is a "cornerstone" in preventing heart disease, researchers said.
But despite the ageing population and the "markedly higher cardiovascular disease risk with increasing age" there is "lower" statin use among older people, they added.
A research team, led by academics from the University of Oxford, said there is "less definitive evidence" about the benefits of the drugs among older patients who have not got a history of cardiovascular disease.
So they set out to examine the benefits of statin use in older people with and without a history of heart problems.
The new modelling study drew data from two long-term UK studies tracking the health of the population - the UK Biobank and the Whitehall II studies.
Using the data, they projected the number of years people can expect to live in good health - also known as quality-adjusted life years - in 5,103 people with previous cardiovascular disease and in 15,019 without.
The authors also performed a cost-benefit analysis on statin treatment.
They concluded that statin use was linked to better health outcomes in older people with or without previous cardiovascular disease.
Their analysis also found that statin therapy "had a very high probability" of being cost-effective.
Our results indicate that older people are likely to cost-effectively benefit from statin treatment.
Lifetime statin treatment increased quality of life-adjusted survival in older men and women and, at UK cost of generic statins, was highly cost-effective for all according to the study.
What the experts say
Lead author Dr Borislava Mihaylova, associate professor and senior health economist at the University of Oxford's Nuffield Department of Population Health, said:
"Our study reports that statins are likely to increase quality of life-adjusted survival cost-effectively for both men and women aged over 70 years irrespective of whether or not they have had heart disease or stroke previously.
"It indicates that more older people should be considered for treatment."
The study authors added: "While further evidence for statins effects in older people will be helpful, the robustness of the findings to variations in key parameters suggests that delaying statin treatment in the millions of older people while awaiting new evidence is unjustifiable."
Commenting on the findings, Dr Sonya Babu-Narayan, associate medical director at the British Heart Foundation, and a consultant cardiologist, said: "Statins have transformed prevention of future heart attacks and strokes.
"As someone ages, the risk of a heart attack or stroke happening increases, heightened by additional risk factors like high cholesterol, high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes."
She adds statins could be an important 'primary prevention' for heart attack and stroke, devastating and deadly events which can be disabling for those who survive.
"The study is an observational modelling study so cannot determine the causes of the associations seen, and findings in the volunteers may not be representative for all. Nevertheless, it does show that there may be lifetime benefits for the over-70s at a population level. For individuals, the decision to take a statin should be based on a discussion between patient and doctor about personal risks and benefits."