High-Potency Statins Associated with Acute Kidney Injury

Several reports have suggested that statins occasionally affect kidney function, but this association requires confirmation. In this retrospective analysis, investigators used administrative databases in Canada, the U.K., and the U.S. to assess the association between new statin use and acute kidney injury (AKI) in 2 million people between 1997 and 2008. They compared high-potency statins (≥10-mg rosuvastatin, ≥20-mg atorvastatin, and ≥40-mg simvastatin) with low-potency statins to eliminate confounding by indication (i.e., patients to whom statins are prescribed are more likely to have multiple comorbidities), and they used propensity scores to adjust further for differences between high- and low-potency users. Overall, 33% received high-p…