Should Older Patients with Diabetes Start Statins?

Evidence supporting statin use for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains limited in people with diabetes who are 75 and older. To help address this gap, researchers used electronic health records from Hong Kong to compare outcomes between 17,000 people aged ≥75 who started statins and 17,000 propensity-matched people who did not. All had type 2 diabetes, no CVD, and LDL cholesterol ≥100 mg/dl. The primary outcome (CVD events) was a composite of myocardial infarction, heart failure, and stroke. Mean follow-up was 5.5 years.