Statin Use Not Tied to Dementia Risk in Older Patients

There has been some controversy about the neurocognitive effects of statins. Some studies suggest that statins may preserve cognitive function, while others suggest the possibility of harmful neurocognitive effects. Investigators leveraged comprehensive cognitive data collected in an aspirin trial to conduct an observational study of statins and cognitive function.

They followed 18,846 study participants for a median of 4.7 years. Participants' median age was 74 years, and 56% were women. With 85,557 person-years of follow-up, the investigators identified 566 incident cases of dementia. Statin use was associated with nonsignificant increases in all-cause dementia (hazard ratio, 1.16) and probable Alzheimer disease (HR, 1.33; 95% CI 1.00 to 1…