Population analyses of atorvastatin clearance in patients living in the community and in nursing homes.

The effects of demographic and clinical covariates on the apparent clearance (CL/F) of orally administered atorvastatin, with chronic dosing in a patient population that included the elderly, were studied in 143 patients (atorvastatin: 34 +/- 26 mg/day, mean +/- SD; men (n = 64), age 64.6 +/- 12.1 years, and women (n = 79), age 69.3 +/- 13 years). The time of dose administration had a strong influence on Ka (faster with morning dosing); the factors found to slow CL/F were coadministration of CYP3A inhibitors and advancing age--the latter factor was relevant only in the men, not in the women.