11 Sep BMJ: Study Finds Lifetime Statin Use Likely to Improve Years Lived in Good Health

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Prof. Mihaylova

Borislava Mihaylova, DPhil
Associate Professor & Senior Health Economist
Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford,
UK & Professor of Health Economics
Wolfson Institute of Population Health
Queen Mary University of London, UK

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: Despite high risks of heart disease and stroke in people over 70 years old and high need for preventive treatment such as statins, fewer older people use statins [compared to middle-aged people]. This, at least in part, is likely due to fewer older people, particularly those without previous heart attacks and strokes, included in the randomized studies of statin treatment. This has led to more limited evidence among them with larger uncertainty. Thus, we set to re-examine the value of statin treatment using the latest evidence and contemporary population data.

MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings?

Response:  We found that lifetime use of statin is highly likely to improve years lived in good health [quality-adjusted life years] in older men and women and that treating them with statin is likely to be good-value or cost-effective.

MedicalResearch.com: How did you define ‘older people’?

Response:  In our study people aged 70 years or older are defined as ‘older people’.

MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report?

Response: While further randomised evidence will be helpful to strengthen the evidence for statin treatment in older people, the robustness of our study findings [including variation in key parameters] suggests that most older people are likely to benefit cost-effectively from statin treatment and should be considered for treatment. 

MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a results of this study?

Response: Future research could re-examine this question after ongoing randomised trials of statin treatment in people over 70 years of age report their findings in few years’ time. Moreover, people at high cardiovascular risk will benefit further effective and cost-effective treatments to reduce their risks further. Studies of how well these newer treatments work and whether they are of good value-for money in categories of people, including older people, are ongoing.

Disclosures: This research is a collaboration between Oxford Population Health, Queen Mary University of London, and the University of Sydney. It was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research.

Citation: Mihaylova B, Wu R, Zhou J, Williams C, Schlackow I, Emberson J, Reith C, Keech A, Robson J, Parnell R, Armitage J, Gray A, Simes J, Baigent C. Lifetime effects and cost-effectiveness of statin therapy for older people in the United Kingdom: a modelling study. Heart. 2024 Sep 10:heartjnl-2024-324052. doi: 10.1136/heartjnl-2024-324052. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39256053.
https://heart.bmj.com/content/early/2024/08/06/heartjnl-2024-324052?rss=1

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Last Updated on September 11, 2024 by Marie Benz MD FAAD