Statins for Primary Prevention in Elders?

Guidelines on cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention classify most elders (age, ≥75) as eligible for statin therapy, because CVD risk is highly associated with age (NEJM JW Gen Med Dec 15 2013 and J Am Coll Cardiol 2014; 63:2935). However, little evidence supports statins for primary prevention in older patients. In this retrospective study, researchers in Spain used a primary care database to determine whether initiating statins for primary prevention lowers risks for atherosclerotic CVD and all-cause death in old and very old adults.

Participants were 47,000 elders (age, ≥75) without clinically recognized atherosclerotic CVD. Of these, 16% started statins. Median follow-up was 7.7 years. After multivariable adjustment, statins did not low…