Statins for Primary Prevention: Homing in on Effectiveness

A recent meta-analysis raised doubts about the usefulness of aspirin for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease (JW Cardiol May 28 2009). To find out whether similar doubts might be raised about statins, investigators conducted a meta-analysis of the randomized trials that included patients without established cardiovascular disease and evaluated subgroups defined by age, sex, and diabetes status.

The investigators identified 10 trials including 70,388 subjects. The mean participant age was 63 years, and the mean follow-up duration was 4.1 years. Two thirds of participants were men, and one fourth had diabetes. The mean baseline LDL level was 140 mg/dL.

Mortality was 5.7% in the control groups and 5.1% in the statin groups (odds rat…